Blues, as a genre, has been with us for a long time, with the exception of folk music, though arguably, they are just two sides of the same coin, it is perhaps the oldest genre of popular music. So, given the deep-rooted and well-established grip it has in and on modern culture, how do you keep it fresh and fun?
You could do what Denver’s Shady Oaks does here: pump it full of alternative rock sonic weight and wrap it in a cocoon of psychedelic intrigue. Do that, and you may end up with a song that comes close to their latest single, “Vices.”
Taking the theme of how we, as adults, accept our vices, our medications and alcohol comforts, nicotine buzzes and caffeine highs as just part of everyday life, separating it from the bad stuff when it is all the same, they explore the hypocracy of it all.
And they deliver this message in a neat blend of dirty blues grooves and gritty, garage rock moves, psychedelic vibes and slide guitars, wayward and wandering keyboards, and wonderfully world-weary vocals.
All genres must adapt to the times, and one way to do so is by infusing the music with sounds that lie just on the other side of their generic demarcations, by pushing boundaries, throwing new ideas into comfort zones and slowly forging new paths through sonic landscapes. And that is exactly what is going on here. This is the sound of evolution, not revolution, and it’s glorious!
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