“Seven Sisters” – Cosmonauts
“Drug punks” Cosmonauts’ latest single, “Seven Sisters” starts off with scuzz and carries it all the way through. In an age of hyper-tech-focused music production, it’s always refreshing to hear a band that would rather just blow out their amps. Guitar breaks feel like you’re about to shoot out of this universe, but punchy vocals drill you back down before you lose yourself again.
– Lauren Khalfayan
“Lo/Hi” – The Black Keys
The Black Keys occupy an interesting place in rock music that’s southwest inspired with heavy religious imagery and references. The story is one we’ve heard a thousand times before: humans are inherently flawed and will inevitably self-destruct. For their first song back in five years, I think they could have been a little more interesting, but it’s overall pretty inoffensive.
– Lauren Khalfayan
“In the Capital” – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
The start of “In the Capital” almost sounds like you’re interrupting a thought. Starting at what feels like mid-sentence, immediately we’re transported to a sort of water induced weightlessness. The song has an amorphous, transient quality to it, playing with the juxtaposition of sinking under the weight of stress and obligations, and an almost numb floating sensation. It’s like being suspended in a moment in time and not quite being sure how you’re supposed to feel about that.
– Lauren Khalfayan
“Lucky You” – Big Eyes
Big Eyes has always veered toward a more punk sensibility and their latest single “Lucky You” is no different. Though many continue to associate punk with rage and cynicism, Big Eyes gives their new single a more fun, 1960’s pop-inspired sensibility. The grinding guitar riffs and crashing symbols are paired with the earworm nature of the melody that harkens back to an old Monkees track or a Space Oddity-era Bowie.
It’s refreshing to find a track inspired by wealth and excess that acknowledges the fact that only a few are ever able to experience champagne cocktail parties and fur coats, without veering toward bitterness and blame. Big Eyes screams “Lucky You” and partakes in their own rock and roll version of a privileged lifestyle, sending the message that if you have the chance to party like a rock star, you better indulge as much as possible before the party is over.
– Amanda Lang
