Welcome all to 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿, a series of weekly reviews by Charles Connolly – an artist in his own right. Here, Charles delves into the greatest brand new singles brought to you by the best unsigned artists on our electrifying and eclectic set of 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 playlists.
𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 – 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙖 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬
Charles reveals the untruth…
When I first saw the title of this week’s song pick, I had only one thought. First, I will talk about that one thought; then I will move on to my second thought. So… That initial thought… You know those days when it all just falls into place and everything goes to plan? No? Well, it does happen from time to time. It SHOULD happen occasionally, anyway. You feel on top of the world. Your tea tasting fresher than usual. The sky is brighter and you can’t help but feel that proud contentment. Then someone rushes in and says, “Oh my God, did you hear what happened??”, with a mortified look on their face… We usually reply “Oh no, don’t tell me”, meaning “I don’t like the sound of this; tell me”. But if you’re having such a perfect day, you probably genuinely mean “DON’T TELL ME!!”; as in – to quote the inspired words of Kendrick Lamar – “Bitch, don’t kill my vibe”. Despite your request, you are told the news. Day scuppered. That’s that. Whether or not the news “AFFECTS” affects you, you are nevertheless affected, and your blissful day is royally buggered. Screwed, if you will. Annihilated, if you’d prefer. And no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get back to that heavenly feeling. Ignorance truly is, as they say, bliss. You can’t unknow the known.
So that was my initial thought. Then I listened to the lyrics of the song more carefully, and realised this was not in fact what the song is about. Especially once I had seen them written down… But before we go into that, here are some things we have all heard over the years… Goldfish have a three-second memory. Cracking one’s knuckles causes arthritis. Lightning never strikes the same place twice. Shaving makes one’s hair grow thicker. Vikings wore horned helmets. Dogs can only see in black and white. Sugar causes hyperactivity in children. One loses most of one’s body heat through one’s head. The Great Wall of China is visible from space. Napoleon was a very short man indeed. Carrots make one able to see in the dark. A penny dropped from a skyscraper can kill someone… And now the truth – you will be broken. Goldfish are relatively intelligent, with memories lasting for months. Cracking one’s knuckles only SOUNDS like it would give you arthritis (and an irritated shudder, if someone else is doing it). Lightning very often strikes the same place many times – skyscrapers, for example. Shaving will only make each INDIVIDUAL hair SEEM thicker, because the slender end(er) is being lopped off, leaving the thicker girth at the tip. Stop tittering at the word “girth”. There is no evidence of Vikings wearing horned helmets in battle – simple as that. Dogs can actually only see in blue and yellow, which is why they can often be found woofing “Slava Ukraini”. As to the effects of sugar in children… Rich dentists. Sweet! In cold weather, our heads will only account for 10-15% of heat loss. The Great Wall of China is around 15-20 feet wide – I’ll let you decide whether it is visible from space… A clue – can you see a human hair from a distance of two miles…? Napoleon was actually of average height, but back then there were French inches (sadly not called Frinches): a completely different measurement to our “modern-day” inch – hence the confusion. The ‘Napoleon Complex’ is therefore the deep trauma of being distinctly average. Carrots are carrots. They are good for you, but watch out… Eat enough of them, and you will end up with indigestion and a few mildly stained fingers. As to dropping that penny from a skyscraper… A penny’s terminal velocity is simply not high enough to give anyone more than a bump on the old noggin. But let’s hope that the potentially murderous freak who decided to test this theory was coincidentally struck by lightning – which does, IN FACT, kill.
You see, before the days of having the immediate answer at our fingertips, we simply believed what we were told. Why would our friends and family lie about a things like this…? The truth is, they weren’t “lying”, they were simply telling you what THEY had been told before. The internet has very boringly spoilt these fun “facts” and stated the ACTUAL facts instead. How dull. However, while the internet is seen as the fount of all knowledge, it is also the biggest spreader of lies ever. Fake news, anyone…?
And finally, we get to our song of the week. ‘Unknow the Known’, by Lana Crow. In actual fact, it should be called Unknow The “Known”. Because the “known” (in quotation marks) is only what people say it is. It isn’t necessarily true. So really, it should perhaps be called ‘Don’t Believe Everything You Hear’, or ‘Re-jig Your Mind and Re-think The Whole of Everything You Ever Knew’. But yes, I am now starting to understand why Lana chose ‘Unknow The Known’ – a very cool title. So!! Lana Crow has been in the community since October of last year, but quietly releasing music since 2024. So, in all respects, a relative newcomer. Originally, Lana is from Kazakhstan. Which makes a change, simply by not being America, Britain, Canada, Europe or Australia. Finally, somewhere a little more exotic! She now lives in Spain. Ahem; moving on…! I challenge any of you to look at any photo of Lana Crow and tell me it doesn’t feel like she’s looking through your soul. There is something mesmerising and almost hypnotic about her look. There’s wisdom, experience and darkness there. And this is all part of the intrigue that appeals to me about an artist, as an artist. The artist is very much a part of the art; because if there’s no true artist behind the art, there is no art. Pair this with the title of the song, and I’m ready and willing before I’ve even pressed play. Well, I DID press play, and I must say that I have no regrets.
Lana Crow does actually have a newer song just released a few days ago, but I thought I would start the ball rolling with ‘Unknow The Known’ for the simple reason that I prefer it (more to my taste). On to ‘Unknow The Known’!! Fans of Garbage, Blondie, and The Killers, will not be disappointed. Instrumentally, this is 21st century rock; and vocally, there’s a large nod to the 90s and the very late 70s. The roughness of the (original) post-punk era blended with a slicker, more modern post-punk era (circa 2004), somehow brings about something that feels of our most recent decade. Produced by Grammy-winning producer (!!), Tristan Boston and mixed by CeePee (as opposed to CeeCee), there is refined solidity and tightness that punches like a proverbial. As with the best of modern music, there is fullness, width and clear separation; not an easy task with heavily distorted guitars and hard-hitting drums. Heavy rock can sound cacophonous or dull if not mixed and produced well. You can get away with much less in other genres like folk and blues, but modern rock needs experience at the helm. Otherwise it just doesn’t pass muster, or cut the mustard. Lana’s vocal is very processed, which would normally put me off a bit; but instead it actually pulls me closer. The distorted quality and heaped reverb create an urgency that cuts right through the dense guitars, bass and drums. She sings with rolled eyes and a sharp wit. There’s a gorgeous sadism making me feel guilty for smiling. Lana is sure of every word she sings; a certain clarity of mind from beyond bloodshot eyes. The pain is real, but at least now she knows what is painful.
As to the music, it’s all just so perfect. From the opening chimes of the clean electric plucks, to the piano’s counter-melodies, to the muted chugs of the heavier distorted guitars, everything is just spot-on. The bass rumbles behind the guitars’ backside, bringing up the rear. Stop tittering just because CC said backside and rear. But once the drums really kick in, they’re for me the equal star to Lana’s voice. This drumming is the kind of drumming that makes young fiends want to become drummers. And old farts, too! It’s oomphy, and just simple enough to be plausible to learn for oneself with enough practice. The unseen catch, though, is that it takes a really experienced drummer capable of far more, to be able to play drums like this. This is Taylor Hawkins standard, once Dave Grohl has told him to “calm the f**k down, man”. I still miss Taylor – the second most famous Taylor in the world (I believe he’s still here in one way or another). Speaking of Blondie, I really do hear the slovenly, debauched attitude of Debbie Harry in Lana Crow’s voice. It’s so refreshingly real and “unphotoshopped”. Again, to quote Kendrick Lamar’s song, ‘Humble’: “Show me somethin’ natural like afro on Richard Pryor” – I can’t put the next line in print because you all won’t stop tittering.
Anyway! This is ‘Unknow The Known’. Rock on, dudes and dudettes!
Sitting too close to the TV does NOT make you go blind. But just to be safe, I still have yet to own one. Old habits die hard.
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