GUNNAR “Bad Idea” and Ni/Co “A Little Bit Better” mine a chill vibe for some deeply powerful emotional release. You won’t want to miss out on this new DLC debuting Thursday in the Rock Band Music Store!
Anyone concerned with the “death of rock n roll” (the topic seems to bubble up in the zeitgeist at least every nine months) need worry no more, as the genre’s rebellious spirit is alive and well, courtesy of 21-year old singer/songwriter GUNNAR. “Bad Idea,” the first track from the up-and-coming, soon-to-be superstar’s debut disc, Best Mistake – out just a few days ago, on 2/24/23 – is a white-knuckle embrace of the type of romantic pairing that’s equal parts “terrible choice” and “primal connection.” This is the kind of energetic, explosive tuneage that has garnered GUNNAR over 22 million streams and views (before he’s even released an album!) and connected with ever-growing audiences at shows across the country. At only age 16, GUNNAR signed him to his management company The cut starts with soaring, distorted guitars and an assertive kick-drum beat, leading to GUNNAR’s confident vocals supported by a sparse keyboard line and authoritative bass. Before long we reach the irresistible chorus that provides some of the most compelling sonic moments of “Bad Idea.” At 2:18 there’s a reprise of the guitar-riff-over-pulsing-rhythm-section arrangement found at the top of the song before, a mere five seconds later, things come to an aggressive stop-start instrumental construct that then dovetails into a stadium-worthy final chorus and outro. This one’s catchy and impactful enough that you’ll swear it’s much shorter than its 3:50 run-time (once again – hooray for the Rewind function!). If you’re not yet on board with GUNNAR, now’s a prime opportunity to be able to tell all your friends, when they “discover” him in a few months, “Oh, you’re only now listening to GUNNAR? Damn, I’ve been a massive fan ever since I played ‘Bad Idea’ on RB4 back in March of 2023!”
If you’re a true nerd (no shame!), “Ni/Co” might at first conjure thoughts of nickel and cobalt, but in this case we’re talking about the surging young singer-songwriter duo of Dani Brillhart and Colton Jones – “Ni/Co” is derived from the first letters of his name and the last characters of hers. The now-L.A.-based band connected after both members had relocated to Nashville to study at Belmont University and has been making waves ever since. Colton actually first messaged Dani on Facebook asking her to sing “Endless Love” with him in a performance class together (She denied him! Though they did pair up soon afterwards). Opening with gloriously fuzzy and loud bass, “A Little Bit Better” adds powerfully aggressive percussion and jagged, coruscating guitar riffs at the 5-second mark. Settling into a chill-yet-oddly-threatening groove defined by Dani’s vox over drums and bass in the first verse, the floodgates open wide at the chorus, which welcomes back the six-string crunch. There’s real lyrical menace and poise just beneath the surface that’s unveiled in that throat-grabbing refrain.Danceable, sing-along-able (that’s a word, right?), instantly memorable – “A Little Bit Better” is the type of track that feels like it’s existed forever and it just took the right artists to come along and expose and share the song with the world. It’s easy to understand how, in just over a year, Ni/Co exceeded 8,000,000 views on YouTube, across a number of clips and the duo were finalists on NBC’s “America’s Song Contest,” This is a hypnotically appealing mash-up of R&B, rock, dance, hip-hop – there’s pretty much a little bit of everything good in here: less than three minutes (2:31) of glorious songcraft that will have you on your feet, snarling along, and feeling absolutely re-booted on an emotional level. Don’t sleep on this one!
GUNNAR “Bad Idea” and Ni/Co “A Little Bit Better” are available for $1.99 each.
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*Please note that this week’s DLC tracks will be available for purchase on Thursday, March 2nd.