From dirty garage rock to shiny pop, ex member of Spring King tries to make it work.

You have to respect ex-Spring King leader Tarek Musa for carrying on in such a high profile way, what with the release of an EP and this single which got reported on and covered widely. Meanwhile, there’s been radio silence from the other members in terms of solo work or carrying on Spring King without Tarek. Dead Nature seems familiar but also in a world of its own, with Tarek’s usual vocal style now singing over cleaner and more varied instrumentation. Does it work though? Eh.

The song starts with driving percussion which is very Spring King (not surprising I suppose) before exploding into a wall of keyboards which gives us the first verse. This bit is exciting and different from anything that came from Spring King but it gets a bit repetitive, the bright shimmering chords tend to grate a bit and the group vocals are a bit “much”.

I suppose this track is trying to be uplifting, even down to the lyricism which seems to talk about sticking through something even in dire times but it kinda tries too hard. This song’s biggest crime though is the chorus, specifically the “hey-ho”s that introduce it. It’s so overused and makes the mind think of cheesy and bland crowd participation at big stadium gigs, did Billie Joe Armstrong have a hand in writing this? It’s all so unnecessary, Tarek could’ve written actual lyrics to fit this melody and not just reverted to making noises with his mouth with the rest of the group vocals.

Again, it tries way too hard to be uplifting and meaningful. I like the sentiment of the track and the general message of it but I guess it’s too much of a contrast from the direct and somewhat gritty rock/punk music of the previous band. 

There’s really nothing more I can say on this track, it’s a bright and shining pop tune that doesn’t really say anything of note or interest. If you’re a fan of indie pop give this a listen but stay away if you were at all a fan of Spring King’s sound.

Iestyn Williams

@iestynwilliams.13

Image: https://www.readdork.com/features/dead-nature-interview-aug19