Philadelphia-based rockers Petrol concoct a driving rock appeal throughout “George VI (“Little Joey”).” The four-piece show a guitar-fronted appeal, meshing underlying distortion with squiggly twangs and steady vocals. Trace Mountains and Alex G are among the inspirations within the production, which excels in balancing a laid-back appeal with a peppy melodic drive.
“I’d been listening to the album Lost in the Country by Trace Mountains,” says vocalist Sean Brady. “I was inspired to write something light and poppy. Lyrically, though, this song is about me being preoccupied with endings and things falling apart. It’s about living through loss. It’s kind of an indie pop song for the apocalypse.”
Made in collaboration with Tyler Ripley at Little Brother Audio, “George VI (“Little Joey”)” builds quickly from warming rhythm guitars into accompanying percussion and twangy additives. References to collapse and “slow decay,” further the apocalyptical sort of feeling, with the initial “we all feel strong,” declaration followed by up rise-and-fall language, emphasizing the latter in particular. Percussion fades momentarily, resuming as a soaring vocal backing envelops with ardent enthusiasm. “George VI (“Little Joey”)” is a consistently engaging success from Petrol.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of September 2023’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
