A LETTERED SOUL: REFLECTIONS ON LITERATURE, CINEMA AND CULTURE .

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC : THE BREAKTHROUGHS AND REIGNING ARTISTIC MINDS.

The title says it all. The term BREAKTHROUGH fit in the narrative of several artists and each offered a distinct vision to make the year count in the service of pure creativity.

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2018 was a veritable showcase for one band of brothers which developed a timeless oeuvre of its own, quickly arresting us with a throwback sound so perfect we took notice and put it in league with an all time behemoth like Led Zeppelin. That band was none other than GRETA VAN FLEET. Taking its name from an elderly lady , everything about these Californian lads' output was, in spirit, retro and actually filled the void for a confounding space for rock, informing us of how the use of a guitar doesn't necessarily spell good music. It's far from it which is how it was in current years.

So it was logical that by resuscitating a legendary band's halo, they put the spotlight on the frisson of their own work ethic as undue comparisons will be ultimately futile. With excellent songs like WHEN THE CURTAIN FALLS, HIGHWAY SONG, BLACK SMOKE RISING and YOU'RE THE ONE ( with strong echoes of GOING TO CALIFORNIA by Led Zep) the zeal to pay tribute to a predecessor by adapting the riffs, the vocal licks, the impossibly sensuous falsettos opens floodgates for rediscovery for those who came before them. These lads recreate the myth and succeed to the point that many listeners had actually mistaken these to be unreleased Led Zep tracks. That's the precision with which the sound has been made to accommodate purists and new acolytes. At the end of the day, however, this is the introduction of four young men who dare to take risks and have ushered in a new exciting blueprint.

It makes me hark back to few years ago when I had read a Rolling Stone profile about this group during its gestation period, touted as it was as a rising phenomenon. Today, GRETA VAN FLEET has become inseparable from the musical accomplishments of 2018.
The success story will make a huge headway in coming months as well.

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BRANDI CARLILE

This lady finally came out of the woodwork in 2018 as the year came to define a wholesome musicality sans one particular classification. Carlile's success was even sweeter as she had consistently made musical statements for over a decade to earn her own share in a classic Americana pantheon, opening up her heart and a poetically meticulous songbook from which the gusto of everyday struggles came forth like a breath of fresh air .
It was pivotal because she had struggled herself to make her voice heard and so rescuing the viewpoints of those in the shadows was paramount. THE JOKE was a phenomenal work on that front and more, crafting intimate lyrical snapshots to become, in my opinion, one of the most rousing human rights anthems of our times. The conversational standstill and then the rising, phoenix like ascent of her vocals is in the classical mold, with a little squint in her voice embodying all the vulnerabilities of one individual life, becomes a gasp of joy by the end. Ditto the other tracks like EVERYTIME I HEAR THAT SONG that is supple, wistful and spare; HOLD OUT YOUR HAND approximates the breathlessness of her spirit with the accompaniment of guitars - her true soulmates.