When I have bands without
very much music I worry about being able to provide a worthwhile review.
Sometimes I just go for it anyway, but today I have three where I was followed
by a member of a band without very many songs, and I decided to combine them.
The
Hotel Robbery (Lucas Ludwig)
I can only find one song
by Lucas, "Drive", released in January around the same time he
followed me.
"Drive" is
pretty good. It has interesting synth accents and shifts in the delivery that
gives complexity to the emotional effect, which is full of frustration and
longing. There is a break near the end of the song, where you think it's over.
It picking back up works, and makes the song more than it was.
It would probably be
easier for The Hotel Robbery to find their niche if "Drive" were a
straight dance tune. Also, maintaining momentum is going to require more
activity, with new releases or videos or something. There is still potential
here, and it merits attention.
57
Down (Billy Bass)
57 Down has two tracks
available: "A Fool And His Corpse" and "Need It Kind Of
Real". The band takes an interesting approach by having two bass guitars
and no 6-strings.
Melody is generally
carried more by vocals than guitar anyway, so that is not what you notice.
Instead the double bass leads to a stripped down, raw feel. It may make the
music more in your face, or that could just be them.
The group self-describes
as stoner rock. I don't feel like their music would be greatly improved by the
use of substances (I'd say that's more of a house/ambient thing), so I may be
missing a reference. Tracks are fun and energetic, especially "Need It
Kind Of Real".
A New Nowhere (Kev)
A New Nowhere is a rock
band from Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Lightening moody chords
with harmonic vocals, they should be easily enjoyed by fans of the Seattle grunge sound, perhaps even more for feeling a
little lighter.
That's not that there is
no darkness in the music, but it is dealt with in a way that doesn't bring the
listener down. Sometimes that's due to the beauty, but it can be humor too; their
video for "You And I" verges on the absurd.
Spotify only has three
tracks, but you can find a few additional via the Youtube Channel. I recommend
checking these out as well, especially "Scream".
I don't want to take
anything away from A New Nowhere by harping on the grunge similarities, but I
know there are huge fans of Nirvana and Pearl Jam out there who will groove to
this band, and those connections should be made.
It's always good to find
a new band.
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