Happy #TunesdayTuesday to all you people with ears that enjoy being penetrated with pleasant frequencies of quality artistry. On my normal weekly music surfing mission, I stumbled across Conditions and that was it for me. I’ve been listening to them since the moment I found them, right up to me writing this post now. I’m actually listening to them as I’m writing this so if my grammar seems to be off kilter a little, it’s probably because steady enthusiastic jamming out doesn’t really work as well while writing as total focus with a little background noise to kill the piercing sound of silence. BUT… the bummer of it all regarding Conditions is that they’ve recently parted ways as a band (womp womp).
REGARDLESS!!!
Here’s the deal… Conditions’ sound is a mix of all your favorite pop punk/pop alt rock bands when they were at their best. That sound is so well established and presented in their most recent/last album, Missing Hours. Who are those favorite bands I speak of? Conditions is a mix of elements from the likes of Acceptence, Cartel, The Startling Line and even a touch of Rise Against. Those 4 bands would make up an unbelievable tour lineup and Conditions somehow embodied all of their sounds in one group. That said, unsurprisingly, Conditions was pretty incredible at cover songs to which they feature 2 on their Missing Hours album.
Conditions – “Long Way Down” (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)
Great covers almost, ALMOST transcend a great original song. The hit original is so good as it is/was, it’s incredible to hear another band do the song justice and it always comes as a surprise to the listener. Nobody ever expects another band, especially one at a much earlier stage of success, to live up to the expectations you have for a band like the Goo Goo Dolls. Conditions also tracked a cover of U2’s “With or Without You” that’s pretty phenomenal. That’s saying a lot coming from me because I pretty much hate U2, no matter who is playing it.
Like I said before though, it’s Conditions original music that brings a sense of nostalgia to you even though you’re listening to completely new and self-written tunes. The Missing Hours album takes me back to over a decade ago while still keeping me right here because its delivery and quality is so relevant and current (the irony of that sentence is not lost on me, knowing they recently disbanded). It reminds me how 2002-07 was such a great time for music with the explosion of pop punk/emo/indie/the “cores”/pop alt rock genres and just the general internet age of finding/listening to new music. Unfortunately, that also spurred the flood of cookie-cutter trend riders. Bands that imitated what was successful instead of what was natural and they’d hassle the entire internet to listen to them. It became a chore to sift through all the fakes and phonies. It tarnished the method of honest online communication between bands and fans. Any tool becomes a weapon in the wrong hands. You take the good with the bad.
Tangent aside, Conditions reminds me of the great music of that time, which is even more refreshing since it’s actually brand new music (also depressing because they broke up). Conditions may not have even been inspired by those bands I listed, but I’ll be damned if they didn’t harness all of their sounds, ball them together, get them to gel, make it a cohesive style, and own it. That’s whats up. That’s what good bands do. This is the type of band you root for and hope for more from… I was just a little too late to the Conditions party in that respect. Nonetheless, good music doesn’t stop being goo music just because the band isn’t still together. Check out the title track from their newest album…
Conditions – “Missing Hours”
Well that about does it for this week’s #TunesdayTuesday. Hit up the comments below with all your thoughts on the Goo Goo Dolls cover and the Missing Hours title track. Let me know what you’re pumping into your earballs these days too. I’ll see you down there.
My music exploits definitely don’t solely exist on Tuesdays. Follow and hit me up on facebook, twitter and instagram to see what shows i’m checking out and what i’m writing.
By: Eli Rebich
