|KNIGHTWATCH|

      Greta Van Fleet and the Arkells both released their new albums at midnight last Thursday, October 19th. Both of these albums have been long anticipated by fans, however, the outreach of these albums was not just limited to them.

     In fact, Greta Van Fleet’s new album, “Anthem Of The Peaceful Army” was a major success thanks to a big push by Spotify. They were the cover of Spotify’s “Rock This” playlist, the most popular rock playlist on Spotify with a total of 4,358,914 followers. This promotion from Spotify gave them a lot more exposure to a broader spectrum of demographics interested in rock music, ultimately growing their already plentiful fan base. The playlist starts with a short promotional video of all 4 members, vocalist Josh Kiszka, guitarist Jake Kiszka, bassist Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner in the recording studio. Then the playlist continues with my personal favorite song off their new album, “You’re the One” which is a bit more soulful and heartfelt than their other more energetic songs. However, it still maintains that edgy Greta Van Fleet flair that is impossible not to fall in love with after listening to just a few of their songs. If you listen to most of the other songs off the album, like “When The Curtain Falls” and “Mountain Of The Sun”, Josh Kiszka’s vocals will immediately stand out to you. He has an impressive vocal range and animalistic howls that are oddly reminiscent of Robert Plant, lead singer and lyricist of Led Zeppelin, one of the most influential rock bands of all time. A lot of their music is heavily influenced by other hard rock bands from the seventies such as Queen and Pink Floyd. This style of music has unfortunately been lost throughout the years, replaced with mostly rap and R&B style music, but Greta Van Fleet has managed to bring it back into the forefront of pop culture in a major way.

      Alternatively, the Arkells, a popular Canadian alternative rock band, also came out with their own album “Rally Cry”. The album was heavily inspired by Gord Downie, the lead singer and lyricist of The Tragically Hip, another very influential Canadian rock band. One of the singles off the album, “Relentless” was especially inspired by this famous rock band. The song itself is very energetic and upbeat, like most songs on the album, straying away from their typical mellowed-out sound.  The song also explores the support that the people around you can offer and how this can ultimately be what keeps you going. In contrast, “Show Don’t Tell Me” is a more delicate and lovely song, which sounds a lot like U2, a classic rock band from the 80s. Further, “People’s Champ” is about Donald Trump’s lack of integrity, a very relevant topic today complimented by a musical sound influenced by an old style of music. The album concludes with my personal favorite song called “Don’t Be A Stranger”, which reminds the listener not to isolate themselves and reach out for help from others. I think all of these messages are really important ones that need to expressed more often, especially in our generation.
 

Ultimately, both of these albums, although they each represent two very different subgenres within rock, are going to be very influential to our generation, just like bands of the seventies are influential to them today. These bands expose listeners to some very culturally significant styles of music from past decades while simultaneously adding in some of their own personal influences and messages, reviving genres and letting them live on for generations to continue to enjoy and be inspired by.