RARE AMERICANS - "Balmoral Hotel" SINGLE REVIEW
James Priestner
Jared Priestner
Lubo Ivan
- "In a world where everyone seems to give two, one, or zero fucks, we wanted to show we really care to the tune of about 50 fucks!"
Two Canadian brothers and a guitar virtuoso have recently teamed up in the studio with the likes of drummer Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse), bassist Yuuki Matthews (The Shins) and producer Joe Chiccarelli (White Stripes, The Strokes) to dish out a bizarre mix of hip hop & indie rock heavily influenced by punk and metal backgrounds such as Bad Religion and Dream Theatre in a band they call RARE AMERICANS.
The birth of their debut single "Cats, Dogs, & Rats" has already racked up over 500K plays on YouTube with it's follow-up single "Balmoral Hotel" landing almost 1MIL in less than its first week alone. It seems as though that the Vancouver trio is not done yet in the slightest, with plans to drop an entire series of singles.
What can I say about a sound that I've never heard before?
It's hard to describe. While other bands offer a unique spin on a genre, homage/throwback to a nostalgic piece of music history, or play off of their influences, a band like RARE AMERICANS is just that...rare.
Believe it or not, brothers Jared & James' first crack at writing music/songs didn't come until just last year. For you music aficionados out there, your minds should be pretty blown. This (in my opinion) has helped the band tremendously. Being new to song-writing, there's no structure, boundaries or genre limitations, not having those "text book principles" has opened up an entire new door to song-writing as a whole.
Their latest single BALMORAL HOTEL has this transient, mellow, indie background while the foreground's hip-hop-esque vocals remind you of the intensity behind the song's meaning. In the midst of all of the flavors a female's voice protrudes in and out soft sung lyrics, soothing the tune's overall vibe.
Explaining the sound of this band is difficult, and comparing them to anyone is just as tough. My best crack at this though, is if Twenty One Pilots, The Raconteurs and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers all started a super-group. You decide for yourself!
CHECK OUT RARE AMERICANS and the rest of the bands featured on
The Pop-Punk Dad features bands from all around the globe. Email me awesome bands at: ThePopPunkDad@gmail.com
