IT’S A GREAT NIGHT FOR A FEW NEW SONGS [SINGLE REVIEWS]

By Ray Cobra

Words: Ray Cobra / Photo: Alex Zarek Art & Design

Tiny Kingdoms – Rose Gold: This is a band I have followed for a few years now, and they do not disappoint. From their live show to their recordings, this band is tight. Their latest single, “Rose Gold,” adds to their repertoire. “Rose Gold” at times reminds this writer of another amazing Chicago band, The Academy Is. I don’t know if they were an influence on this track, but it sounds like it, and I’m all about it. I know there are so many bands coming out of Chicago, but if there is one that will and can blow up in 2020, it’s Tiny Kingdoms. You heard it here first.

The Beautiful Mistake – Memento Mori: In a world of reunions this is the one I am the most excited about so far in 2020. This is their first new song since 2006. And I am so stoked. Back in the heyday of post-hardcore/emo with bands such as Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, and more; these guys were lost in the shuffle. They are a band that really should have been bigger. Well, here we are in 2020, and I’m writing about them. This single picks right back up where they left off. So many times after a long time away bands aren’t the same but not so here.

Creeper – Born Cold: If you follow Tuned Up or me, then you know how I feel about this band. I have been singing their praises since 2017, and I don’t intend on stopping. A few years ago Creeper just up and disappeared from the spotlight. Then on Halloween 2019, the same day that My Chemical Romance—the band many feel the Creeper would replace—announced their return, so did Creeper. And it was glorious. “Born Cold” is everything you would expect from a Creeper song. The darkness that we have come to enjoy from them is still present, and the epic, big choruses are better than ever, and the passion in Will’s voice is still a thing of beauty.

Spanish Love Songs – Losers, Pt. 2: This is punk rock in 2020. In the genre of punk rock, no one is writing songs like this right now. I thought their last album was great and that it was the album that Gaslight Anthem should have written after The ’59 Sound. Well, I was wrong. This is an anthem for our world right now—this dark, hateful, bleak world in which we live. This song is the ray of hope that we all need. I love the honesty here. It’s what we all need to hear.