Red Leather – DEATHWISH
Genre: Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
What does a musician do? Duh, they play music and might sing. This means that they practice a lot. They learn to become experts at using the instrument of choice.
But, musicians aren’t just equipment experts for guitars and drums. The good ones are, first and foremost, storytellers. While being a virtuoso gets you the attention of peers, telling valid stories can get you the attention of the world.
Many powerful stories have been told through the use of the blues. And, many big-budget productions have at their heart tales of bad guys with hearts of gold. In fact, modern cinema and music are dominated by characters that would have belonged to B-movie action flicks in the 1970s.
Know the market! Red Leather’s DEATHWISH displays a great understanding of what the artist’s audience will understand. This is rebel music for people who like shows about biker gangs. The song looks and sounds the same.
Behind it all, there’s a glossy production. The blues is used as a weapon that shoots hooks and grooves. It might not be the most original sound. But it’s a clear vision with a built-in fanbase.
Fever Moon – Ronnie Spectre
Genre: Indie-rock
The people who grew up saving money to buy a vinyl album are angry. They are taking their anger against social media. They are decrying the state of the youth. And, most importantly, they can’t stand that songs have been reduced to 15-second snippets
Yes, TikTok virality may be pushing the single format to reduced new heights. But pop culture has always been about being thrifty with content. One successful single was enough to create a fortune. Great riffs have made careers. And some musicians are actually just remembered for their looks.
A great song title, for example, can be enough. Fever Moon’s Ronnie Spectre doesn’t merely provide an inspired name to the song. It’s a song of deep melancholy, the kind of tune played at 3 a.m. in a lonely room.
It’s a song that clings to the back of the mind like all the promises that pop music holds to an impressionable mind. It’s a song of despair and of hope, much like The Ronettes’ dream-plated singles.
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