- Tue, 2010-10-26 16:48
Sacramento duo Middle Class Rut (Zack Lopez and Sean Stockholm) make a far bigger sound than it would be fair to expect from just two men. Not louder, mind you, but bigger. New Low is a taut, purposeful and hugely catchy tune. There’s nothing extraneous in it; the simple-as-they-come drums are combined with utilitarian guitar parts that hint at a paired-back Brand New or Kings Of Leon, the result being a focused backdrop against which the pair’s vocals can stand out. The sparseness of the instrumentation amplifies their voices, giving the impression of a shouted phrase echoing through a huge, empty building.
The clip sees Zack and Sean enduring various life-threatening situations somewhere in the bleakly beautiful open plains of America. From digging their own graves to being lynched, facing a firing squad and being dragged along the ground behind a 4x4, the boys have a pretty torrid time of it, but there’s just the hint of their own collusion in events throughout, thus reflecting the lyrical theme of the song: “I make mistakes, just like everyone else, but instead of letting go of it I can’t forgive myself.”
