Skip to main content

Artist Feature: Wildcard

By
By Kaitlyn Monroe
Wildcards: The unsuspecting, game changer, saving you from going ass over tea kettle, that leaves you gasping for air. Ironically enough, Wildcard is the name of this weeks band feature and they live up to their high standard name. The three piece hard rock band is from Macomb, Michigan, and representing the state of Detroit style pizza, and one of the great lakes is Kyle Berrens, Anthony Merz, and Tyler Johnson. This is one of your classic high school garage bands, originally founded by Kyle and Anthony in a music class aimed at letting students learn or improve at an instrument. Which, given the intricate, skilled style of the instrumentals of Wildcard, proved to be a wonderful class and we should all send their teacher a fruit basket. The bands sound is influenced by the rock geniuses such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and others of the sort. The band remains true to their garageband outbreak and have written and recorded (in their basement) several songs that are on their Youtube Channel and ReverbNation. I feel these guys are definitely a band to watch out for in the future but are still trying to find their voice.
With that being said, let's talk music. I checked out Wildcard’s Youtube channel to look for a song to review per request of the band. I listened to about half of their library and came to the conclusion that their song Distorted was the winner of this week’s episode of wheel of fortune. The song starts off with 45 seconds of instrumental and the autotuned wail of the lead singer, once the vocals kicked in, I felt like I was listening to Alice Cooper and it was great. I feel that, of the songs that I listened to of theirs, this one is the strongest of their edgy, rebellious rock style. This band is so strong in the instrumental aspect of their music, it’s so juicy, so full of life, and is something I’m looking forward too. The feeling is like Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, and Robert Plant had a soul love child and it made the music progressions for Wildcard. The instrumentals for Wildcard is spot on with their Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Van Halen vibes, however; the vocals lack in the fact that they don’t follow what the instrumentals promise. I understand an upcoming bands need for diversity and things to set them apart from the others to draw in followers but when you listen to “Iron Man”, “No More Mister Nice Guy”, “The Immigrant Song”, or “Panama”, the vocals and instrumentals walk hand-in-hand as they frolic through the fields of Rock N’ Roll. Even if you don’t know the words to the songs, you can still sing along with the guitar, and have your own little impromptu guitar solo. The common theme with the music of Wildcard is there is two separate ideas at play at all times. It’s two lovers fighting, going in different directions, wanting different things but still trying to make things work. It’s not bad, but the band definitely needs a heart-to-heart with their music, their message, and how they’d like to show them and connect the two into one.
Overall I give this band a 6/10. They are so close and almost there I can feel it, but the struggle is real ladies and gentlemen, to find your voice, learn how to use it, and what to use it for. However, if you’d like to check out their youtube channel and their song “Distorted” use the link below.
Until next week Alt Fam, this is K-Dogg signing out!

Link to Distorted

Comments

Post a Comment

Greatest Hits

Tyler Carter "Pressure" Single Review

By
Written by Jade Marshall  A new single “Pressure” by Tyler Carter was released on June 28th. My overall opinion of this song is that it's a really good release. The song is great and it is such a beautiful song in a strange yet wonderful way, it’s one of a kind. The beginning of the song stood out, because you hardly hear the beat in the background but you hear his voice quite strongly, it’s really beautiful. The chorus itself is prominent, as it is saying that he needs someone who will take him as him and not put all this extra pressure on him for not being who they want. “I remember when you told me/I should go back to the old me/Before the Taylor's and the tattoos/Before the Perignon and OG.” This part stands out because it opens ups the song up and tells you right off the back what he wants. “I'm frankensteinin' they wanna put me back in the lab/If I'm gonna be grinding, if I'm gonna be making this skrill/I'm gonna do it my way, bitch get out of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Atlas Genius concert review

By
Hello! I have been gone for a while because I'm a lot busier now that I'm in school, but I have a lot of concerts coming up so I will be posting more frequently. I went back to Bottom Lounge in Chicago on October 5th to see Atlas Genius. I do like their music a lot, but I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan. I honestly wanted to go mostly because I fell in love with Bottom Lounge when I was last there to see Andrew McMahon. I always end up liking the opening acts they bring in and I love the intimate atmosphere. I hope to continue going there to discover new music. Half The Animal The first band that opened was Half The Animal. I had never even heard of them before and had no clue what they sounded like. As soon as they started I really got into them. They have an indie-pop sound, which is something I've started appreciating more recently. The lead singer, Chase Johnson, had an incredible amount of energy. He was dancing and getting into the music and the energy fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bleachers concert reviews: a weekend in Chicago

By
I was lucky enough to see Bleachers on their Gone Now tour part 2 in Chicago both on November 11th and 12th, 2017. Opening for them was Amy Shark and Bishop Briggs, who I had never heard of before. The first night, Bleachers played at The Riviera Theatre, and the second night at The Vic Theatre. I had seen Bleachers live once at PIQNIQ this past summer, and I also reviewed the album Gone Now as soon as it came out, so I was very excited about these shows. I will say that Bleachers did not disappoint, these were two of the most amazing and fun shows I have ever been to. It was definitely worth waiting in the freezing cold/rain for hours to be front row both nights. Amy Shark I had never heard anything about Amy Shark's music before coming to night 1 of Bleachers, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed her and her set. Shark is an Australian indie pop singer/songwriter, who released her EP "Night Thinker" this year. Shark has no trouble carryi...
Post a Comment
Read more