Boring Story – Sad Sack

Similar artists: Microwave, Remo Drive, Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, The Strokes

Genre: 90s Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock

The humble electric Guitar remains an extremely powerful image. This is true today, even if electric guitar playing in its more bombastic form is rarely featured on the radio. Guitar solos or driving riffs aren’t, as they once were, the priority of songwriters. But modern guitar heroes still exist, and they often have millions of followers on their social media channels. 

The electric guitar sounds are a flavour that practically everyone can recognise. It makes an impression. It’s like sprinkling paprika or black pepper. Not everyone likes it. But none of the people digging into the recipe can ignore it. Plus, the guitar has almost as much of an effect visually as it does in terms of sounds. After all, when pop singers get a guitar player to back them up, they are seen more often than they are heard. 

Boring Story’s “Sad Sack” could’ve been a typical pop song were it not for the chugging electric guitar and the Weezeresque lyrics. It’s a fun and easy-to-digest track moved into the way of rock n’ roll by the power of distorted guitars. Boring Story are smart to reduce indie-rock to its bare essentials and, in this way, easily communicate just what they’re doing and where they’re hoping to arrive. 

Robot Dinosaurs – Welcome to the Spotlight

Similar artists: Interpol, The Bravery, Arcade Fire, Blur, She Wants Revenge

Genre: Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Pop

Oscar Wilde famously likened life to a theatre play in which the casting director got it wrong. That’s a nice thought to have. But the one that should really make us scared is that, perhaps, most of us are we need to be. That in itself would be tragic and a very hard thing to accept for the majority of us. 

If comedy is something tragic that happens to someone else, then the dark, painful upside is always something that affects us. In truth, most adversity leaves anyone without any desire to do anything but seek comfort. The ones who find a way to tell the world what they saw and how they felt are as impressive as ultramarathon runners drinking an espresso while in the middle of a race. 

Robot Dinosaurs’ “Welcome to the Spotlight” fits in easily with the post-punk-revival scene. But it’s a song with plenty to declare, not just an exercise in aesthetic pouting. This is music about being trapped and forced to become a witness to your life’s decisions. The baritone vocals and pulsating bass guitar offer the ideal musical backdrop. In the end, this is brave music about facing adversity. 

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