By Charlie Maybee
Described as an “angry waltz”, London based alternative rockers, Hello Amnesia, have returned with their new single “What?!”. The song takes rock and roll’s roots in the blues and electrifies them as they power through this power ballad.
With a recognizable blues progression that is simultaneously reminiscent of the famous classic jazz standard “Feeling Good” and the renowned “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, a rhythmically charged piano softly leads us into the fray as the composition swells. In the end, the vocals and lead guitar take centerstage as they wail into oblivion all the while asking the existential question of “What do you want from me?!”.
It’s an extremely energized tune that will have you just as ready to both swing it out in a mosh pit and curl into a fetal position for a good cry. There’s a sadness to the lyrics laying beneath the volume as the vocalist laments about a lover who has left them behind and deserted town. As it modulates between larger-than-life guitar riffs and more subtle verses, this is a song that revels in big feelings and doesn’t hold its punches.
“What?!” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud; and find it on the Alchemical Records Multigenre MIxture playlist on Spotify.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
