Empty Heaven – The Zero With 1000 Faces
Similar artists: Wilco, Built To Spill, The Mountain Goats, Yo La Tengo
Genre: Indie Folk, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Well, it may be true that many people are stuck, from time to time, in lives of quiet desperation. And it is certainly true that this is enough to have all of their creative energy taken away. But unless they struggle to make something meaningful of even those types of emotion, then this period won’t benefit anyone. It’ll just end up being a blur. The person to whom this is happening won’t even be the protagonist of their own story.
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Just look at your favourite Rock stars. Do you really believe all the stories that they write in their scandalous ghostwritten autobiographies? Do you really think that at this precise moment, your favourite star is up in a private plane doing drugs with models? Highly unlikely. They’re probably stuck in a hotel room, having to board a bus and dreaming of striking up a real connection that might make them happy.
Daydreaming is a wonderful thing, even when it’s covered in layers of sadness. Empty Heaven dreams of fairytales and special someone on “The Zero With 1000 Faces,” and it’s heartbreaking. Behind the brittle arrangement and lovely melodies are lyrics that talk about distance, resentment, and hopeless dreams of striking up a real connection. It will, hopefully, happen one day. But, we get a page from the diary from when it couldn’t happen.
save for later – Treating Me Bad
Similar artists: The 1975, The Japanese House, Phoebe Bridgers, Third Eye Blind
Genre: Indie Folk, Pop Rock, Indie Rock
“Treat me like a fool/Treat me mean, and cruel.” That’s what Elvis Presley used to sing at the height of fame and, arguably, his talent. Boy, did he sing it well. But nobody believed it, not least of all him. Why did Elvis, America’s biggest star and genuine heartbreaker, sing about being manipulated and abused by a love interest and loving it, too? You’d have to go out of your mind to buy it.
That started a long-lasting tradition of confident rockstars singing about being treated poorly by their love interests. It also started a tradition of having those songs become hits. Why? Because, unlike the confident, rich, handsome rockstars singing those tunes, most people actually have to go through life facing these challenges. And, well, it’s better to smile about them rather than to drown yourself in a bottle of Jack Daniels.
save for later’s “Treating Me Bad”, belongs to the tradition of airy pop tunes featuring lyrics that ought to belong to a morbid blues. Unlike your revenge fantasies like “Hey Joe” or “I Put a Spell on You” there’s no maliciousness here. Much of the music recalls modern pop-rock bands like The 1975, who, contrary to their Instagram posts, really just want to have a good time. So do save for later who make the blues sound like a Summer beach party.
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