RJ Comer – Nightly Suicide
Formerly the front man of the Dance Hall Pimps, RJ Comer redefines his musical style with a stripped down version of Americana Rock. RJ released his new single “Nightly Suicide” on February 26th with an accompanying music video due out March 7th. This is first single off of his upcoming EP also named, Nightly Suicide and will be released on March 25th. The metaphorical title track is RJ’s homage to Charles Bukowski—the poet laureate of barflies. The song also illustrates RJ’s early life, which he describes as “a lot of heavy drinking and nightly self-destruction.” Comer’s gritty, soulful vocals and dark riffs authentically convey the stark and sometimes surreal lyrics and imagery of the song.
The music video is inspired by Bukowski’s screenplay Barfly. Marcos Tinez plays the younger RJ, a lonesome alcoholic who is wearing the identical hat RJ is wearing in other clips of the music video to connect past and present. Directed by Guillermo Rodriguez, “Nightly Suicide” was filmed in Granada, Spain and at Los Angeles’s legendary music venue, The Mint. The soon-to-be released EP Nightly Suicide will be available for presale on March 11th. Get the pre-sale once you have this video because it will entice you for the rest, as it does myself. Nightly Suicide video is a real pleaser, so the EP promises to bring wonders. This is such a good tune it should be the lead-off single for an entire album. But that could mean every track on the EP will suffice, if it’s anything like this. Not being familiar with RJ Comer I can still say that, and will make myself familiar after enjoying this promo piece to warm up for it. No stops were pulled in making this right. From the storyline of the song to the well-engineered and acted video. The track begins with some cool guitar and goes onto tell the story of one Charles Bukowski’s alcoholic rumblings, met by that of RJ Comers own demons of the same disorder. It’s hard to distinguish the two, so the video would just have it appear to be about RJ himself. But read his bio and the track’s lyrics and you know he’s just reflecting the same issues and coming face to face with them. It’s well explained in the song, if simplified to a degree. But it also helps to have a well-acted out video to drive the message home, which it does, all the way. And by the time it’s over, if you listen as much as you watch, you get an evenly sliced package of entertainment.
The music does less talking than the lyrics on this track but it’s perfectly enhanced by the slinky playing. RJ seems well at home with this type of music, which includes plenty of blues but goes into territory he’s never been. It happens to rock and swing with just the right elements of the culture in which it is surrounded by, both in the sound and visual aspect that come together in this excellent promotional vehicle. It’s almost blindsiding to me because I haven’t heard RJ Comer and had to pull together some last minute research to find out who he was. There is very comprehensive information provided online to help seek out this title and keep an eye on all future activities. Being the music mecca that it is, I’m sure that is a big plate to start with, so the EP should open up maximum doors in that area. This has more of a world class sound, so it should go beyond any local vortex. Some want to break out as far and wide as possible, and some have all the talent in the world but little ambition to travel. This should reach audiences far and wide either way, and give the artist a market reach somewhere besides the back yard of music town America. From the time the bus pulls by and you’re going from the hotel room to the lounge and everywhere in-between, you miss nothing in this minimalized statement about excess. And you feel for anyone you know who’s dealt with the issues that start out fun but turn into a nightmare. It’s all approached very lighthearted but you feel the heaviness of it all, just the same. By the time you’re used to the song it doesn’t matter who’s more covered, Bukowski or Comer. All that matters is what you get the gist and a warning from both images of men. The whole thing is believable and there is nothing cliché sounding about it. Even if the storyline is a typical one, it’s unique to the artist and his subject, so you have to believe it. But if you didn’t know about it, the song still sticks to your ears like glue. The track is one hundred percent, and the video not far behind. That leaves the forthcoming EP to give even more light on the subject of RJ Comer.
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
https://www.facebook.com/RJ.Comer.Music/
Scott Prinzing