Feeling stressed about politics? Strangely Alright’s six track EP, Stuff, may hold the perfect anthem for your internal revolution. Despite the length of the five to six minute tracks, the Seattle quintet keeps up the energy the whole way through and will have you sticking it to the man and air guitaring right along with them. They keep the energy high and would be the perfect soundtrack to your anti-establishment weekend bash. As the band describes the tracks: “six songs about love, working together, setting boundaries, the digital age, and the change that’s coming.”
While the title “Stuff” may come off as a little lazy, the songs fit precisely along with the theme. Stuff starts out with a spoken gibberish intro that really makes you think of that everyday feeling when school, politics, work, or your everyday life — you know, stuff — has just got you down. The first and title track, “Stuff” has it all: pop punk lyrics — “without some love in my heart, it’s all just stuff” — that make you picture lead vocalist Regan Lane pouting his lips and swaying his head; an upbeat, catchy melody that’ll have you singing along in the car with the windows down; and some great guitar soloing and strong half-time drum backing through the bridge that’ll really have you jamming along.
After the first track gets you into the sound, the second track, “Building Bridges,” is when the political themes start to come through. The song opens with a sound bite from Robert F. Kennedy’s 1968 speech after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “what we need in the United States… is not hatred…. [It is] love and wisdom.” It’s a song about love and connection, but with extra electric guitar and rock ‘n’ roll.
Third track “Wave Goodbye” adds a little more bounce than the other tunes with a more prominent electric keyboard line. It has much more of a funk focus and includes an oscillating pitch scale at the end of the song that reminds you exactly of someone waving goodbye to you. The song starts with the line “dinner is served,” but don’t let that confuse you; this track is much more about karma and betrayal. The witty lyricism iconic of Strangely Alright’s tracks is highlighted in this song: “I thought you were my friend, but I can see that you were pretending by the snide remarks that drip from your tongue,” and “you’re gonna get what you get. The universe don’t forget. Grab a hankie so you can dry your eyes.” If “Building Bridges” is about love and working together, “Wave Goodbye” is about kicking out those people in your life who’ve stabbed you in the back.
“Information Game,” track four, keeps that sing-along, jam quality and opens with the clear vocals, “the message is very simple. Think for yourself and question authority.” This track exemplifies Strangely Alright’s drive to stare politics directly in the face with lyrics like “constitutions, prostitution, maybe there’s a good solution. Getting naked might be the best. Who we marry, what we carry, going out’s a little scary. Searching for a thread that connects.” It’s refreshing to hear a group that refuses to shy away from heated topics that are so important to our political climate today. They say something real. Not to mention guitarist Sean Van Dommelen’s remarkable talent to whip out a killer guitar solo in every track — each one more impressive than the last.
The fifth track, “Whatcha Gonna Do?” feels distinctly Seattle. It’s hard to not hear sounds that are common within other Seattle artists such as Timothy Robert Graham, Booboolala, or The Echolarks with the funk from the electric keyboard riffs that you’d easily find in a TRG song, along with the steady backbeat and intense guitar counter-melody lines reminiscent of Booboolala and The Echolarks’ sounds. And yet, Strangely Alright doesn’t write about relationships, heartbreak, or getting drunk. Instead, they continue to discuss the tense political climate of today’s public with lines like “I vote in the elections, but I feel no connection to the people we trust with our lives.”
The EP closes out with “Don’t U Know,” a great representation of the high energy and punch present in every track before it. The vocals opening this track are a little more silly: “the army air forces has announced that a flying disc has been found and is now in the possession of the army.” The more hopeful tone of this track is that “change is gonna come,” and there’s optimism for the future. What I love about this track, though, is that they don’t talk about change as a question mark. There’s an adamant tone to the song. It’s going to happen; they’re just letting you know about it, first.
The six songs that Strangely Alright put together on this EP aren’t just music — they’re political statements. Along with the like of The Who, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, these iconic political commentaries are what last the test of time. Strangely Alright is using its music to vent its frustration with politics. The band comments on consumerism, gun control, marriage laws, racial tolerance, love, and distrust of politicians. They talk about the truths of our reality… and yet, “without some love in our hearts, it’s all just stuff.”
Wow! What a fantastic review. Thank you for listening and getting where we are coming from…
Great review👍
Thanks for the great review