It’s been a long time coming. The East Coast / West Coast / Dirty South rivalry in the hip hop game has been a tool of media sensationalism and a catalyst for violence for long enough. The time has come for the styles to merge, the characteristics defining each area code bleeding into each other generating an era of hip hop where artists are finally celebrated for their individual skill and artistry. Max Burgundy is one of these prospectors braving the new frontier. From his West-coast delivery and pronunciation you would never imagine that he was born in the Bronx and now lives in Brooklyn. However, his East-coast beats bump with a levity that sets them apart from the scores of “hard” beats prevailing in the NYC scene. He’s like the missing member of Living Legends transplanted to the birthplace of the art, his deep baritone calling out to the masses to join him in the march towards global unification. He rocked Arlene’s Grocery last week, check out his twitter profile for upcoming gigs.
"Uptempo" and "Pop" are by themselves two concepts that - in the business of being an indie band - can take you quite far; but if on top of that you add to the equation also comparisons to The Smiths, then the hype can get out of control. Brooklyn's Drowners have more than one similarity with Morrisey's act, and although they will surely feel belittled by such comparison, they should not, because no artists really managed to be The Smiths' worthy musical heir yet (like, for example, XTC were for The Beatles, Robin Hitchcock for Syd Barrett, and The Strokes for Lou Reed - uhm, maybe...).
The band's 3 songs debut EP features the remarkable single "Between Us Girls" (streaming below) which immediately throws us back to the days of "Meat is Murder," with the electric guitar alternating between jangly parts and arpeggios, and Welsh frontman Matt Hitt singing semi-melancholically about some girls' hair length - rather than about how big they are... The edge is slightly punkier, while the songwriting reveals an almost clinical concision (the song clocks in just under 2 minutes, with the first chorus coming in after 26" - A&R allergic to intros will dig that).
The second song, "You've Got it All Wrong," beats a similar musical path, tackling the infinite well of inspiration that (for Brits) is life at the pub, with the difference of a slower bridge, which acts as a breather for the final chorus. Final track "A Shell Across the Tongue" is the punkier of the bunch, but also the one with the least memorable melody.
This is obviously a band with enormous songwriting potential. If they'll manage to write songs as good as these and integrate their influences in a more mature and personal sound, the world can be theirs. - PDG
