Tuesday’s Top Tasty Tracks
THE TOP FOUR BRAND NEW TRACKS FROM MARCH 20TH–26TH.
Some incredible music dropped this week.
thoughts & prayers – grandson
Currently based out of LA, born in New Jersey, growing up in Toronto and attending Uni in Montreal, Jordan Benjamin, aka grandson, has had a wide variety of cultural experiences, and decided to make a bold statement with this song. And bold it is. Calling out politicians, and America as a whole, for letting these shootings go on for decades without any budge in gun legislation. The point grandson is making is echoed by the countless who protested in the streets last week in the #MarchForOurLives movement: thoughts and prayers do nothing for those who are already dead. This point is further echoed biblically when James says words without action is dead. Grandson has created an incredible infographic on his website about school shootings here: nothoughtsnoprayers.org. The song itself is well executed, and has an underlying, subtle feeling of unease, which I believe to be intentional. There’s great emotion in it throughout, and having a chorus of children’s voices singing the chorus is haunting.
Genre: Alternative/Indie Hip-Hop
RIYL: Twenty One Pilots, 2AM Club, AJR
Collapse – Heart of a Coward
Though many long-time fans of the band aren’t thrilled with the new vocalist, that was going to happen regardless of who it was. Fans have a tough time with change, and there’s no question that the previous vocalist, Jesse, was gifted. However, Kaan really holds his own and does his best in this song. The band itself shifts instrumentally from their previous work as well, so it’s not exclusively the vocalists fault for a shift in sound. The band sounds much more metalcore, with lots of chugging, than the focus on the melodic technical metal they played before. They’re still technical, and stand head-and-shoulders above most bands in the metalcore genre, but it’s still a shift. Kaan’s clean vocals really shine as the chorus is a standout moment of the song. What’s great, despite all the complaints and muttering, is that this song still gets the head bobbing and has a great closing breakdown akin to All That Remains or Miss May I: fast and heavy. I’ll stick around and see where the album goes, as this is only a sample, and I recommend any jaded fan to do the same.
Genre: Metalcore/Hardcore
RIYL: Architects, Northlane, All That Remains
I Want Sushi – Islander
This fast, hilarious song is so bouncy and relevant to today it’s incredible. There’s no question that the hot genre right now is hip-hop. That’s where the money is. “Rock’n’roll don’t pay like it used to.” But the boys in Islander don’t care, preferring to have a good time regardless of the pay-checks, and this song reflects that perfectly. It’s a lot of fun. Though this is a departure from their earlier sound of more hard rock, it still is fully Islander, helmed by vocalist and only founding member Mikey Carvajal. Nu-metal has seen a small, niche resurgence in the scene, and there’s no question that it has a fun, tongue-in-cheek style that shouldn’t be taken to seriously, which is something Islander understand. I also would enjoy sushi right now, Mikey.
Genre: Nu-Metal
RIYL: Attila, Sylar, Limp Bizkit
Traitors – The Weight of Atlas
Harkening back to 2008-2012 risecore, The Weight of Atlas have tapped into a specific sound I haven’t heard in a few years. Bands like Woe Is Me really hyped up this sound back then with electro-inspired drums and beats. I don’t mean any of this as a dig to the band, but rather that it’s a sound I haven’t heard in a few years and am happy to hear again in a different light. The clean vocals are pretty good, not redundant in any way. There is a scream near the end of the song that sound identical to Garret Rapp of The Colour Morale, and he has a very unique scream so it’s impressive that someone was able to pull that off. The breakdowns are heavy, though not extremely creative, and they get my head bouncing. All in all, a solid song that doesn’t push the genre forward necessarily, but is a great addition to the sound.
Genre: Post-Hardcore
RIYL: Woe Is Me, The Colour Morale, We Came As Romans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omlG5ZbpVm4
As always, you can listen to all of the TetraT songs at this playlist here:
Alastair Heinrichs 