BEGINNERS “Goodbye, Good Luck” and ILLENIUM & Max “Worst Day” find confidence through sorrow and emotional disquiet. Be sure to check out this new DLC debuting Thursday in the Rock Band Music Store!
From If the World Is Ending, released in November of 2022, “Goodbye, Good Luck” is a casually confident masterclass in songwriting and performance. Beginning with a hazy guitar drone, the track quickly establishes a driving beat courtesy of taut, no-nonsense drums paired with a persistent bass line. Over that rhythm we get a vocal melody that sonically and lyrically harkens back to the heady days when grunge ruled the charts. Employing the never-fails “quiet verse/explosive chorus” arrangement approach, “Goodbye, Good Luck” is a confident, swaggering reminder of all that was excellent about early ‘90s alternative rock. The song is an expression of distraught anguish, but it’s abundantly clear that frontwoman Samantha Barbera is no helpless victim or punching bag here. Scathing lyrics serve as a potent kiss-off to a former lover who’s done her wrong, including a fuzz-guitar driven chorus that explicitly outlines the destruction of this ex’s favorite article of clothing. “Doing a more indie rock-driven song like ‘Goodbye, Good Luck’ was a breath of fresh air,” Barbera explained at the time of the single’s release. This infectiously catchy scorcher barrels along at full intensity until the 3:09 mark, when the instrumentation backs off, ultimately leaving just Barbera’s snarling vocals accompanied by a single ultra-distorted guitar, until even that disappears and all that remains is an a cappella dismissal of fake friends and fake love. “Goodbye, Good Luck” is sure to become a powerfully-felt new favorite!
Released in October 2022, “Worst Day” finds DJ and producer ILLENIUM collaborating with singer-songwriter Max, resulting in just under three minutes of multi-layered, anthemic perfection. From the forthcoming (Spring 2023) Illenium, the track is tailor-made for both radio and the dance-floor – Indeed, “Worst Day” soared to number 16 on the U.S. Dance Chart. A ferociously catchy expression of fear over losing a loved one, it’s a cut with a universal message that resonates deeply with listeners. “The song imagines what life could be like without someone you love, or after just losing someone,” ILLENIUM shared before the single dropped. “It's like saying, ‘It could have been the worst day of my life,’ or ‘It could have been life-changing.’ Those kinds of moments remind you why it's so amazing to love and to be grateful.” Starting out with a dreamy, inviting keyboard line, “Worst Day” ramps up the intensity as Max lends his emotive, soulful pipes to the equation, joined at the 24-second mark by a primally irresistible beat. And then, about 20 seconds later we get… that refrain. To say that “Worst Day”’s chorus is “big” doesn’t do justice to precisely how massive and captivating the vocal hook is. Forget “arena-ready” – this massive earworm of a sonic centerpiece is soccer-stadium outsized and instantly memorable. Max’s powerful vocal delivery is given plenty of aural support and room to truly shine courtesy of ILLENIUM’s consummate production and arrangement skills, which deftly employ effects and here-one-second-gone-the-next audible flourishes. “I feel like I haven't been doing as many features with other people because I love staying in my own album lane, but with ILLENIUM, he taps into such an emotional place that is so rare, especially in the electronic space.” Max has said, regarding the pairing. “And I think that's why we've worked so well together because it's very vulnerable.” The back-end of “Worst Day” is defined by something of a “triple chorus” (you’ll wish it was more like a 10x chorus) before, at 2:42, everything abruptly fades away with just the echo-y, delayed trails of the song’s final notes. Short, sweet, and made for repeat listens, if you aren’t already on board with ILLENIUM and “Worst Day,” you’re about to become acquainted with your new musical obsession!
Producer/DJ ILLENIUM sets himself apart from his contemporaries through a mastery of not only dance-floor beats and melodies, but also an unparalleled ability to craft truly emotional experiences for listeners. When his collab with Max, “Worst Day,” dropped in the fall of 2022, the song was rightly recognized as the next-level achievement of composition and aural arrangement that it is. Tapping into one of the most base, human fears, in the final analysis the track is an exuberant triumph of optimism with a furiously catchy refrain that practically dares you to *not* sing along. Whether you’re already familiar with ILLENIUM, or just now getting that first taste, you’d be well served to head on over to Spotify to explore the full catalog: https://open.spotify.com/artist/45eNHdiiabvmbp4erw26rg
Additionally, swing by https://www.illenium.com to learn about upcoming live performances, check out some videos, and snag yourself some officially licensed ILLENIUM merchandise!
BEGINNERS “Goodbye, Good Luck” and ILLENIUM & Max “Worst Day” are available for $1.99 each.
· BEGINNERS – “Goodbye, Good Luck”
· ILLENIUM & Max – “Worst Day”
VIDEO: Rock Band 4 DLC Week of 2/23: BEGINNERS and ILLENIUM & Max
BUY ROCK BAND 4 DLC ON XBOX ONE
BUY ROCK BAND 4 DLC ON PLAYSTATION®4
*Please note that this week’s DLC tracks will be available for purchase on Thursday, February 23th.