Master songwriting at its finest. Take note all you younglings playing around with loops, beats and melodies in your bedroom and/or garage. The rock and/or roll craze that died out many a year ago is making a come back yo! Snap! I been waitin’ for this! Yeah people say that all the time, but this fo real! As long as it’s mixed with digital beats and all that modern shit you’re gonna dig this new rock resurrection. Damn I’m old…
Speaking of mixing and blending genders…er genres New American Hustle has a new album. What! You’ve never heard of ‘em? Sheeeeit boi! Let me axxx you sumpin’? Are you into catchy-ass melodies? Do you like The Streets style Britcore rap? What about indie rock? Fine, what about female fronted mumblecore and snappy hooks? Something poppy perhaps? What about allah dis eargasmically mixed together with danceable beats, distorted guitars and tight melodic fills beautifully intertwined among the vocal leads of multiple singers? You gon dig Drown Like Teen Spirit yo!
That’s what makes anything from New American Hustle unique. It’s radio-friendly, it’s got hooks, it’s got something for everyone. And I know you’ve heard that before. Your favorite artists as a teen releases a new album years later and they say “it’s better, it’s heavier, it’s more melodic,” it’s got “something for everyone” and you give it one listen and off to the back page of your CD collection book it goes. cough cough you can’t please everyone Sugar Ray! This is different though. New American Hustle takes a page from Unkle and features multiple guest vocalists at the top of the game, both with Ian’s songwriting prowess and the multiple vocalists he features to front his songs.
Take for example, the title track “Drown Like Teen Spirit” a clear reference to a certain 90’s grunge band in a state of bliss, which kicks off with some intriguing looped stringed instrument sounds along with the croonings of a beautiful female voice. It quickly delves into a head bopping, dance beat with… wait bongos? Then burrows further into a rock-like ditty in the chorus complete with synths, acoustic drums and rapping! I couldn’t pull this off if I had Mike Patton as a producer, let alone make it coherent and catchy throughout!
This speaks to the album as a whole though. You’re gonna be hooked in with its evolving songs as the album progresses, and even the changes within the songs themselves! It’s a pop math-rock album! Math-pop! BAM! You heard it here first.
The catchy lil guitar riff on “Blindfold Sights” has been stuck in my head for days now while almost ballad-like “Deepfake to Shakespeare” can clock in at eight plus minutes and still hold you in.
On another note, songs like “Prelude to a Drowning Girl” introduce some new sounds and instruments such as a fiddle into the repertoire. Think of it as an Irish jig with dance beats. Again, a feat that not many can pull off.
This is a very well produced album. It’s groovy, fun, rocking, glossy and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Enthusiastically give this four thumbs up. Dig it!
Listen to Drown Like Teen Spirit here:
Band Camp: https://newamericanhustle.bandcamp.com/album/drown-like-teen-spirit