Old themes, new voices?
New Myths is a three-piece ensemble directly hailing from Brooklyn, New York. This trio act includes Brit Boras (guitar/lead vocals), Rosie Slater (drums/vocals) and Marina Ross (bass/vocals). The band has collaborated with prominent groups, such as touring with The Joy Formidables and being featured on Lou Reed’s XM radio show. Their new EP, All the Shiny Things, was released on November 12th. In it, New Myths leaves behind the darker, gothic tones seen in their previous album Give Me Noise for a more upbeat, pop-forward sound. This shift in atmosphere invokes the sounds and feelings of ’80s hair metal, sci-fi etherealness and prominent Riot Grrrl themes.
The song “Living Doll” is feminist pop rock anthem that is equally serenading and menacing. This track brings about sultry tunes that evoke the laidback, fun surf rock sound of groups such as The Surfrajettes. The lyrics, “I am your living doll/ won’t you take me to the mall/ where we build a home inside a sparkly store” poignantly link to major themes written in both The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedman and the play A Doll’s House by Henrick Ibsen. This connection centers the political ideologies of New Myths to ones often seen in the Riot Grrrl scene.
“Bad Connection” is another track on the EP and could seamlessly fit into the score for the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World with its villainous, monstrous pop-filled vocals and themes. However, the lyrics “Bad connection of the mind/ I am the static of your precious TV/ I am the darkness pumping death into the air” seem a bit outdated, overused and cliche. New Myths seems to be evoking some sort of “TV is the enemy” stance commonly seen in the late ’90s, which results in this outdated feel.
“One Good Reason” seems to take inspiration from the group L7, with reminiscent scoring choices such as the drum beat, heavy guitar and brutal vocals. Despite this, melodies are often overshadowed by repetitively nauseating lyrics. Their pop vocals and drawn-out voices seem to lack any wonderful nuggets of surprises.
New Myths still keeps their intergalactic, instrumental-forward momentum but seems to lack complexity and fall a bit flat vocally. A lot of the lyrics and instrumentals seem to fall into worn-out and tired themes from the ‘90s and early 2000s. The instruments and vocals jumble together at times and don’t live up to the awe-inspiring complexity heard in their past album. All the Shiny Things plays it too safe, relying on old, outdated troupes for the current decade. It simply lacks any oomph factor.
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