Song of the Week Roundup: October 2021

ICYMI: A roundup of our song of the week selections from October.

"Upstarts" - Johnny Marr

A. Iwasa says, "An ex-Smiths guitarist who also did a stint with Modest Mouse among others, I think he might be one of the most underrated singer-songwriters and guitarists still making music today, or at least England's best kept contemporary secret from us in the States. Aside from his accomplishments with those fairly large bands, he's had a noteworthy solo career to boot. Why is he opening for The Killers this fall and not vice versa?!"

"Sanctuary" - Elder

T&E writer Andrej says, "'Sanctuary' off of Elder's 2017 album 'Reflections of a Floating World' is a finely-crafted and wonderfully homogenous mixture of stoner doom metal and progressive and psychedelic rock. Like every song on the album, the journey this one takes is epic and often ethereal: heavy, yet optimistic doom passages seamlessly morph into lush, spacey soundscapes which lead you right into tastefully shredding climatic solos before changing tempo and going off somewhere entirely new. Mixing so many different musical ideas doesn't always work out, but the guitar playing and songwriting really pulls everything together here; nothing is out of place and nothing is forced. 'Sanctuary' is a magical and inviting ride for you to get lost in."
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"Where's Captain Kirk"  - Spizzenergi

T&E manager Parisa says, "One of my favorite UK punk singles of all time, and with the recent headlines, this track naturally came to mind. Aggressive basslines, tight percussion, satellite-mimicking synth lines - a massive hit and absolute trailblazer for the burgeoning new wave scene. Now four decades later, we have reached the loop in the space time continuum to finally answer Spizz's question...he's in space, innit!"
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"Not Falling" - Mudvayne

T&E writer Alex says, "I just spent three days at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento. Metallica headlined two nights. The Misfits headlined the third. It was my first time seeing either. Who had my favorite set that weekend? MUDVAYNE! FUCKING MUDVAYNE! I didn't consider myself a huge fan of theirs, but they made a statement on Saturday night. They combined the theatrics of Slipknot, the mysticism of Tool, the complex grooves of Gojira, and Code Orange's healthy balance of creepy heaviness and straightforward headbangers. I didn't realize how ahead of their time these guys were until Saturday night. Not Falling was one of the most fun mosh pits I've ever been in. I didn't know we needed a Mudvayne reunion before this weekend, but I'm glad I got to witness it."
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