The People Now – One By One hits the Groove
I love living in Seattle. No, seriously…I LOVE living in Seattle. I honestly feel that for my entire lifetime, I’ve lived in one of the greatest areas of the entire world to love music. Many of my favorite bands may come from the UK or Canada but the sheer volume of incredible bands that come from right in my own backyard never ceases to amaze and impress me.
New case in point: THE PEOPLE NOW
Imagine if someone with a voice like Chad Kroeger actually sung for an amazing band. (Don’t laugh…Chad has a GREAT rock voice…it’s just his band that sucks)
The People Now are an incredible blend of metal, funk, groove and anthem rock all wrapped up in an 4-piece, face-melting package for the ages. These guys are seriously for real. If you haven’t checked out their most recent EP One By One, you must remedy this situation immediately. If the lead off track One By One doesn’t have you screaming along with the crowd on every line, you should probably check your pulse, and the follow up “Venom Child” manages to funk and groove without degenerating in to mindless, boring repetitiveness. As a matter of fact, I think my favorite aspect of The People Now is that they manage to make odd rhythms “groove”. This is sometimes a difficult balancing act usually left to bands like The Mars Volta, but The People Now shine in this aspect.
“Light Years” may be my favorite from the whole album, taking the pace down a bit, but still leaving you breathless while “Hong Kong the Time Bomb” and “Maniac” are anthems that at first leave you wishing they went on just a bit longer, but then you just appease yourself by hitting the repeat button.
The EP ends with the destined to be a classic, “Steal the Black Bread”. The infectious, heart-wrenching anthem is not just a great album closer, but a show-stopper in every sense when played live as well.
And that may be one of the most amazing things about The People Now. I’ve seen them twice now, and I don’t know that I’ve EVER seen a band in club that made you feel as if you were in an arena full of thousands of people every time. Their live show is so tight, professional and well executed (and…freakin HUGE) that I honestly don’t know how they pull it off. It might be a little bit of smoke and mirrors, but I’m having such a blast that I don’t care. Pick up the CD from the official channels asap, but more than that, do everything that you can to see this band live. *YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED*
Official Website:
Buy the CD at CD Baby: