FOR FANS OF: Rage Against The Machine, Phoebe Bridgers, cleopatrick
deepsix, a 4-piece punk rock band from Toronto, Canada released their EP, kerosene/hollow on April 23rd. It's a brilliant, solid example of the music deepsix create, and of what they believe in. deepsix are Nate Hobor as lead vocals and on guitar, Scott MacDonnell on lead guitar, James Finlay on bass, and Karl Damus on drums. They're young but mature by beyond their years, full of passion & skill - which all shows throughout these four songs.
The EP opens up with "kerosene," a song deep in a classic deepsix style - a guitar-driven sound mixed with lyrics that are honest and a bit angsty. "kerosene" speaks of a dying relationship - one that's soaked in anger and frustration, ready for that final spark to set it all on fire, to let it finally burn up and fade away. It's a relationship that went down the bitter path of breaking trust without feelings of remorse, without room for forgiveness and communication.
"hollow" follows "kerosene," a vicious commentary on the state of rock music today - which they believe is overrun by the corporate (labels, nepotism, product-over-genuine art), rather than the honest and self-made (found in DIY spaces, ones like New Rock Mafia, which deepsix resides in). deepsix are not a band to choose what will surely sell the most, but rather to choose what is the most authentically them, what is honest, what is real. deepsix are here to make honest music, and with this EP, they have gotten that message across well.
"bloodmoney" is the third track on the EP, a criticism of systems of power, a social commentary. It is the angriest song on this EP, rightly so, given the topic of the track. Final, fourth, and fan-favorite (also my favorite as well), is "cobain," a powerful & deeply vulnerable alternative rock anthem. It speaks of growing up listening to the greats, such as Nirvana, and struggling with mental health while eventually getting older and becoming one of the greats, but...unfortunately feeling how they felt. The pressure of fame and trying to not lose yourself while creating for others. Feelings of anxiety and depression. "cobain" borders between the fictional & fact for the band, making it a very interesting & a dark track, lyrically.
Nate himself said about the EP, "This project is the most authentically ‘deepsix’ release yet. Every song sees us exploring a different facet of our sound and influence, from the harder punk sound to the stripped down, confessional, raw side of it. Every single piece of this project was written, recorded, assembled, and mixed by us in a basement. We take a lot of pride in doing things our way and writing the songs we want to write and exploring the sounds we want to explore. We’re part of a scene that prioritizes authenticity and honesty over all else, and that’s what we’re trying to put across with every piece of music we put out. Just honesty and relatability and authentic songwriting, not being tied down to anything."
This EP and deepsix overall, are fantastic. Bands like deepsix are the future of rock, are what will last for years to come. They don't make easy, swallowable music, but music that makes you choke on what you believed in and makes you think. They make music for mosh-pits, for people searching for something real and honest, something that is full of that raw, alive & aching guitar-driven rock sound that is slowly but surely making it's way crawling up the charts with all of it's bloody knuckles & broken strings right now. We are at a turning point in rock music, and deepsix are one of many bands pushing the tire swing that the music industry plays on, spinning and spinning it until the big heads will have no choice but to jump off and land in the scratchy wood chips, coming to their senses while finally staring at the clear sky above them, which was there this entire time but they were too busy sitting pretty in the burning sunshine to take a glance.
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