By Lauren Miller
Online Associate Editor-in-Chief
Who I’m listening to: The Orwells
Favorite Track: Let It Burn
Vibe: Rage, angst, and rebellion (aka punk rock)
Similar to: Rise Against, Dropkick Murpheys
Forget everything I have ever said about teenage angst (even though it’s very few things, but still forget it). The Orwells are everything encompassed in teenage rebellion and more, especially since the message of many of their songs is often a huge middle finger to society and the people in charge. They are fundamentally founded on a deep hatred of adults, high school and of course the suburbs, which, admittedly, are some of the main reasons I love them.
The Orwells are interestingly recent graduates of York High School, as in Elmhurst, as in 25 minutes away from us. This is another reason I love them, we share a similar background both young and full of enough energy to criticise the world, both having grown up in a middle-class, white, suburban neighborhood. So when they sing about revolting against what is expected of them, I as a 16 year-old, privileged, female obviously can relate. In all seriousness, I feel like they understand me, granted the angry, rebellious me, but still me.
Their sound is extremely unique with the mix of classic punk hate and rock sounds as well as some garage and touch of revival 90s grunge. The Orwells came out with their second album in June of 2014, and you can be assured it is filled with a number of head banging songs with agressive and blunt cords recioshaing off the instruments, guitars specifically. This thrashing of the guitars and drums that accompany lead singer’s angst-filled, hoarse voice (sorry for my overuse of the word angst, it just seems that there really is no better way to describe them than that… listen to them and you will get what I mean.) makes me whip my body around like one of the possessed children in the conjuring, but I love every second of it.
The themes of their music usually mocking everything except for themselves. This often includes religion (as seen in their song The Righteous One), the suburbs(their whole album Disgraceland essentially), and of course the government (in Who Knows You). Their hating of near to everything except for drugs, good music, and teenage rebellion is absolutely perfect. So if you are a establishment hating, angst-filled teenager I highly recommend The Orwells, and lets be honest you probably are, even if only a little bit because you really can’t be a teenager without some rebellion inside you.