Youngest Sibling – This Old Brain
Similar artists: Daniel Johnston, Field Medic, Guided By Voices, Radiator Hospital
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Pop
Great songs can come out of any place, can crawl out of nowhere and can be authored by the most unlikely of people. However, the music industry would have us believe that great songs come out exclusively of expensive studios, that they are commissioned by fancy record labels and that they are made by professional pop stars.
Well, that would certainly do the struggling record business a favour. But a quick glance over the history of this thing that we insist on calling pop music reveals that this is simply not the truth. Some of the greatest pop stars were certified weirdos, some of the greatest records were surprises for all those involved, and great songs are still written without any kind of budget.
Youngest Sibling’s “This Old Brain” is a wonderful piece of bizzaro lo-fi pop, complete with the sweetness and craftsmanship of a long-lost Beatles gem. You can call it outsider art if you want or consider all of the myriad of ways in which a big-name record label would reject releasing them. But while you’re at it, you’re best considering this for what it is – an awkwardly delivered pop triumph and stop believing the corporate giants all the time.
One Last Job – Been Here Ever Since, Pt. One
Genre: Folk rock, Indie Pop, Alternative Rock
Maybe it’s just because pop music and modern art are a little too subtle for me these days, but I increasingly get the feeling that these works are a put-on. Can you really move people to tears when your words are vague? Can you make them laugh when your jokes have no punchline? And, I bet you can’t make someone love you for their whole life as long as you share no connection with them.
There are few stories worth telling nowadays. And the people paid to tell stories know this, too. It’s why everything is either a remake of a remake or bluntly shoots for something abstract on which you can paint your own meaning. It’s all a bit too subtle nowadays.
One Last Job’s “Been Here Ever Since, Pt. One” is a monumental song of woe. It’s a tune that is barely a song, to begin with, but in which every single word is arranged perfectly. Really, this is the kind of story that a stranger in a metro station is dying to tell you before they have to ship off back to an office that killed their dreams and suffocated their soul. You’ve rarely heard better tunes about working for the man, and One Last Job tells you exactly what happened to them.
