April 2021: The Alternative Music Playlist

Rite of Passage

Sleepyhead

Trying

Hands free guns got them all killing easy
But if the system catches fire then they run off screaming treason
Another kid on the ground brings a military answer
Got rubber bullets and the dogs staring down the protestors

There’s only one group that showed up in riot gear
There’s only one group that showed appeal

I feel the doom coming down on a whole generation
Oh like when it lies like a dog and it’s called out as greatness
I feel the weight of the world in a single vibration

And I know it’s all for granted and all talk flood

We’re running around, around, around here
I can’t say where the night will go
There’s a million different people trying to let it show
We’re running around, around, around here

Talk Flood

Vampire

Wish

Perfect

Control

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Scores links three long-time friends, former roommates and like-minded architects of intricate, cerebral indie rock. You may recognize the charismatic vocal melodies of CJ Calhoun from Cowboy Indian Bear and his solo project, Bonzo Madrid. He’s accompanied by brothers Austin and Alexander Ward, the brains behind The Noise FM and contributors to the visceral flavors of Hembree. 

The Wards and Calhoun had long toyed with the idea of creating music together, but a month-long backpacking trip through Europe sealed the deal. They were inspired by the “heavy bass lines, driving drums, and distorted synthesizers” that pulsated through clubs they visited across the continent.

That cadence comes through on “Talk Flood,” with an added dose of piercing indignation. While it’s just as easy to get trapped in the song’s melody, you’ll likely find yourself ensnared and emboldened by its deliberate sense of chaos. Calhoun’s sleek and earnest vocal delivery steers its frenetic pace as he frames the turbulent state of gun violence and police brutality in America. 

Histrionic rhythms and jarring soundscapes thread together imagery of rubber bullets, riot gear, “another kid on the ground brings a military answer,” and “dogs staring down the protestors.” Though its lyrics were written in the wake of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, the trio reminds us of how clearly they echo today as they declare “the doom coming down on a whole generation." 

- Michelle Bacon / 90.9 The Bridge

Talk Flood

Scores

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