sometimes through the normal course of your day, something stands out and says “hey, check me out”. you put it off at first for various reasons but when it’s music, that “hey, check me out” can haunt you. yea, that song was cool, but what about the rest of the… then song 2 comes along and you stop what you’re doing and double check the name. nope. never heard of “the commoners“.
and then you ask “why the hell not”?
you tend to ask yourself a lot of questions in the normal course of your day, it would seem.
why does this matter? well, i suppose because as i do my impression of fine wine, this getting older, i get harder to impress. and by harder i mean there are simply fewer bands putting out consistent quality music. so when the song in the background says “hey…” several times over, you listen. with almost a christmas like antici….pation, you listen to more. and more.
then you find an earlier album. and you say to yourself, “do i dare try”? what i heard from the commoners, “find a better way” was simply feel good music. from the first to the last, the style defines itself through various progressions and changes. the feeling it captured in you stays while the music changes and tells different stories.
it’s a most amazing feeling, this feeling music can give you. you find a brand new favorite band. in the 80s this happened by the hour, it seemed. today? the gaps are far and wide. but when you do find one, from start finish, you tell yourself it was worth the wait til your paths crossed. in my case, i can write about it and share with others to help them find a new favorite band.
with any luck, this is where you, the reader, tells yourself “why the hell not”? and you check ’em out.
i won’t even bother going through a few “best” songs and trying to sell you on them. they’re all good. everything just “fits” from the vocals, to the style, the instrumentation and the wonderful feeling you’ll get turning out the lights and turning up your new favorite band.
song after song, you’ll fall in love with the music. if you follow the same road i did, you’ll drop back to “no stranger”, their 2016 release. not sure what they did in the 6 years of in between, but the sound and feeling is like they were written at the same time, it feels like.
it feels 70s; it feels southern. it feels familiar, it feels new. it feels fucking amazing.
i already know these 17 songs from the 2 releases are going to dominate my personal playlist. i’ll also show them off on my show the icehouse and spread the love. i’ll put some videos on facebook and tell everyone i know and ask you to check ’em out. music like this needs to be shared!
so, check ’em out – why the hell not? already in the rotation, their music will be a feature on my own next show.
thank you, guys. i really REALLY needed this music in my life.
The Commoners
Chris Medhurst (vocals / guitar)
Ben Spiller (bass)
Ross Citrullo (lead guitar)
Adam Cannon (drums)
Miles Even Branugh (organist)
Spotify these guys
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