This week, we have found a set of good songs, but we have also found a bit of positivity. One of them has been rarer than the other, but I'll let you decide which is which.
Halestorm - Darkness Always Wins
There are only a couple of things that could come out that would be a bigger deal that this, and I have no reason to think they ever will, so this is the potential highlight of the year. This next chapter of Halestorm's story is poised to be the most authentic one yet, telling the story of Lzzy's growth and development into a happier version of herself. That metamorphosis is a journey, and this song very much tells us how much went into getting to the other side. This is Halestorm at their most epic, using the full five minutes to build from Lzzy's crooning voice and lone piano to a Dio-esque roar over the raw guitars as we reach the top of the mountain.
Lzzy sings that sometimes there isn't a song to sing to fight off the demons in our heads, that sometimes the very fact the Earth is spinning means our minds will follow suit. We have to write our own way out of the story, which is what Lzzy is doing here. Bleeding into the music is the only effective use of bleeding as a treatment, and the release in her voice when she belts out the last chorus is the moment of realization that we can fight, we can win, if we put all of ourselves into the effort.
Of course, I say that as someone who does not have that fight in me. Lzzy's message makes me want to, and that is the effect great music has. She screamed her way to a better place through this song, and the echo of that voice can give some of us who don't have one the ability to feel a bit of what that success is like. I couldn't have asked for more.
Miley – End Of The World
I wrote previously about how "Something Beautiful" was a disappointing first look at this era. "End Of The World" is what I was expecting, and rights the ship. It is still a big, disco-inspired song that aims to make the "Flowers" sound more artistically inclined, but this time Miley does it with enough flair and melody to pull it off. The soundscape is more lush, while leaving plenty of room for her vocal to take center stage. The key, as always, is the build pays off with the vocal and instrumental hook, which is far more interesting and memorable than the subdued attempt on the previous single. This one is Miley as the glitzy Cabaret star, and this time I can see how it will all come together.
Graveyard & Goat – Ship Of Fools/Light As A Feather
Graveyard are not going into hibernation between album cycles this time. They have teamed up with a group called Goat for two new songs, each one focused on one of their sounds over the other. The Goat led song, "Light As A Feather", is one of those songs that reminds us of what makes a band truly sound like themselves. The weeping guitar line and crunchy tones are pure Graveyard, but the wispy vocals have a psychedelic bent that shifts us more into flower-power territory than the blues. It shows me how important the grit and power of Joakim's voice is to making Graveyard's music hit as hard as it does. That song is a novelty, but too ethereal and fluffy to make much of an impact.
"Ship Of Fools" is a fuzzy Graveyard led song, and brings something new and interesting to the mix. It sounds like classic Graveyard, even touching on bits of their debut album, but those Goat vocals I didn't like in the first song work as wonderful backing textures here. It gives the song a soul element to go along with the blues, which is a wrinkle we haven't heard from Graveyard very often. I wouldn't mind hearing more of it, as there's something novel about the idea of a sinister 60s soul group that could work in a more authentic Ghost-ish way. I like this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment