Hello Steemians,
this time a little different style coming from Denver, Colorado: a mix between hiphop, rap and rock music. But not with this typical hiphop beat in the background. The musical background consist of a violin (played with a bow or plucked), cello, guitars and drums:
Handlebars from the first album released in 2007
To the song Handlebars i need to write some more words cause it's such a powerful song about what humans are able to do. In the words of singer Jamie Laurie it's about the "potential as human beings to be destructive or to be creative". It was the bands largest success and that well-deserved in all 3 points!
- The lyrics couldn't be chosen better. Starting with a simple "I can ride my bike with no handlebars" it's continuous raising to " I can lead a nation with a microphone" and in the end to "And I can end the planet in a holocaust".
- Parallel to the lyrics, the music starts with a slow beat by a violin plucked and after the trumpet solo it becomes loud and wild when the lyrics become serious.
- At least the music video is also breathtaking about two friends who choose a different paths with many emotions and sociocritical aspects.
After the first album Fight with Tools from 2008 they released the next one Survival Story in 2010. The theme of sociocritical and also politic-critical continues hand in hand with the musical genre mix. The album also includes one song featuring Tim McIlrath of Rise Against and his voice fits perfectly for the refrain:
White Flag Warrior from 2010
Followed by the album The Circle in the Square in 2012 and Noenemies in 2017 they can look back on 4 full length album released under no label and another one should be released soon. For the latest album I really can recommend the song Pray. Tourdates for January (US) you can find on their website (as always) linked here.
I really like their kind of music with no limits regarding the genre mix and the instruments. On an album there can be a very slow song, followed by a hiphop-like song, followed by a very rocking song. But all three can also be combined in only one song.
In the beginning i only knew the song "Handlebars" and forget about the band for some years. Then I thought "Hey there were these guys with this great song! What if they have more and new songs?" ...and I loved it. So give it a try if you're free for new experiences! And let me know how you like them :)