In their new single and music video “Donna,” The Inoculated Canaries keep the rambunctious beats they’ve become known for coming at full speed while confirming what most critics were already suspecting –that theirs is a sound built on the foundation of consistently strong melodies. There’s a lot of oomph in their style of attack in “Donna,” and while they’ve shown off a lot of aggressive musicality in the past, this latest release could well be their most well-defined and melodically bombastic so far. They’re cutting loose here, and sounding pretty swaggering in their explosive performance from start to finish.
There isn’t really anything fancy about the video or the compositional structure of “Donna;” contrarily, I think that this is about as straight-up an alternative rock anthem as you could acquire this December. The Inoculated Canaries have a great habit of never overthinking their music to the point of creating enigmatic narratives, overstuffed breakdowns, silly video props nor inefficient harmonies, and in this track, they prove once and for all that no band – rock or otherwise – needs such frills to make a single feel like a supersized showcase. The pop elements here are black and white, while the virtuosic component comes almost exclusively from the passion in the band’s play.
URL: https://theinoculatedcanaries.com/
I’d be really interested in hearing what kind of a live sound The Inoculated Canaries have, because if it’s anything like what they’ve got in their studio work, they could absolutely be one of the brighter touring acts to be seen in 2020. There’s no debate as to whether or not they’ve got a multifaceted composing style – it’s clear to any novice or devout music critic just the same – but part of me does wonder just how well it would translate on stage. They’ve got a lot of raw energy that could be manipulated and transformed in a multitude of ways with the right crowd in front of them, and although similar acts have struggled with bringing their magic to a crowd without a couple of hiccups here and there, my gut tells me that this crew might have a slightly easier time just on the strength of their talents alone.
If you have never heard the music of The Inoculated Canaries before now, I would recommend doing so immediately. 2019 has catapulted them out of obscurity and into the limelight of the indie media, and though I don’t think that they’re quite ready for the mainstream side of the dial just yet, they are demonstrating more than enough skill to make a big play for the Top 40 come 2020. “Donna,” in ways that go well beyond cosmetics, is a good sampling of what this group can do when they’ve got a great concept and nothing to stand in their way creatively, and I for one hope to hear a lot more songs like it in the next year. The Inoculated Canaries might be an underground sensation at the moment, but if they can keep this up, they’re going to find a home among the masses much sooner than later.
Jamie Morse