Milton, Gray, Shelly, Tennyson, Auden, Ayres, all writers of famous elegies, who from the quiet melancholy of country churchyards to memories of fallen friends, (in the case of Pam Ayres, a hedgehog) have added something vital to the creative canon of Western literature. Now, I’m not saying that The Meloncholy Kings’ latest, “Bitcoin Elegy,” quite makes it onto that list, but it is a cracking good song.
Now, considering that I call Swindon, UK, home, I am duty bound to say that there is a lot going on here that reminds me of our town’s beloved sons, XTC, but that is not a criticsm, far from it, it just puts our sad monarchs in that rarefied group of musicians who have actually found something interesting, exciting, unusual and creative to do with pop music.
But it is an elegy of sorts, not to a person, as is the usual case, but to an era and an idea, a musing on our times of the rapid erosion of personal connections, of the distance and disconnect that seems to be a barrier between us all now, of how social media is anything but social and barely even media. Bitcoin is just a handy marker in the chronologic line.
The Meloncholy Kings prove that they know exactly how you can mix pop smarts with indie cool and just enough rock energy to build the best of many worlds. Riffs rock, beats and basslines groove, dynamics ebb and flow, sweet harmonies drift through the air, and the result is a track that is infectious and insightful, power-pop-ish and poignant, melodic and muscular.
And joining the core members and regular band players this time, guitarist and vocalist Mike Potenza, bassist Scott Selig, drummer Paul Andrew and guitarist Peter Horvath, is Olivia Selig adding additional vocals that can only be described as spectral.
It’s a great song, but then again, as the song says, this isn’t their first rodeo. Anything but!
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