There was a time when bands had to be a native of the right cities, have a sizable budget and enjoy the right connections to be exposed to the music loving public. Occasionally, we’d stumble across something new but more often than not the NYC-LON-LA music scene dictated the sound that came through the airwaves.
In many ways Satellite Stories represent everything that I love with music in the 21st Century. Hailing from the remote arctic city of Oulu in Finland the spunky four piece have sent us tracks that are both enjoyable and distinctive, largely thanks to the vocals that betray their Nordic routes and lend their tracks an charming quality.
You get the feeling the band draw strength from their position as outsiders both nationally and globally. This is evident when the band poke fun at their nations capital and cultural hub with the defiat tongue-in-cheek refrain for ‘Helsinki Art Scene’ where the band declare that they don’t need to be and definitely don’t want to be part of the aforementioned scene. Quite a statement of intent.
‘The track ‘Mexico’ is further evidence that the band remain unhindered by their geographical location and instead throw down as good an ode to escapism and travel as any other band could. This little angular number will make you want to pack your bags and leave, particularly if you are experiencing the bastard winter months that have just arrived.
‘Kids Aren’t Safe In The Metro’ is a slightly more introspective number but still maintains the bands habit for packing as many hooks and melodies as possible in under 4 minutes. It’s isolated grammatical inconsistency just serve to make the track and the boys more endearing.
Mexico
Undoubtedly it would be great to see the Satellite Stories become a success and play their music around the world. I know a few people who would happily pay to hear this lot live so if anyone is reading this snap the boys up right away. Until then, thanks largely to the powers of the internet, we can all enjoy the bands catchy anthems.
TRACKS:
Satellite Stories – Helsinki Art Scene
