Why are we here? This site/brand/whatever the fuck you want to call it refuses to accept the idea that rock music has died.
After having the privilege of making a living as a music writer over the span of three decades, these eyes have seen trends come and go.
The key word is trend. While there are a lot of bands that are bearing the weight of the genre’s proverbial survival through the traditional formations, it’s impossible to deny that there is a new rock star.
Some of them such as viral sensation Sueco are impossible to define while others such as Atlanta’s underground king London Grey channels elements of trap, metal and grunge into his aggressive sound that creates mosh pits whenever it slaps a speaker.
The truth is that the artists sitting in this section of the rock caravan throw multiple ideas into a blender. They are also carrying the attitude and swagger of the music into another direction.
We live in a time where these teenagers have traded smoking low-grade weed on the hood of a Camaro for eating bars of Xanax in the backseat of a Audi.
Right, wrong or indifferent, its just the way that it is and the music of a generation will always reflect that. This mirror-view also sheds like on how certain acts are using colors from multiple sonic palettes to paint with to create something to call their own.
BUT…truth be told, some of them look the part more than they carry the torch. The fans are the true gatekeepers of the art form and by and large they have used their verbal machine guns to strike down those that pose more than they deliver even if their acting resume is dirty and notable.
But there is a lot to like and the case of Sueco, there is a reason why artists such as Travis Barker have stood next to the kid.
The spirited “Last Thing I Do” is the greatest banger that The Strokes never wrote. Using timeless chord structures as it’s foundation, the track weaves new wave synths, a rock-solid backbeat and a spirited vocal arrangement to get its snarky point across.
Catch the vibe and feel the new wave doing a old thing.
