White Crows // Misplaced & Softlight

Michael Dixon
Sep 18, 2017
2 min read

Song: Misplaced // Softlight

Band: White Crows

Album: Sampler EP

Location: Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.

Date of release: 15/09/17

Genre: Melodic Hardcore/Punk-Rock/Emo

Reviewer: Michael Dixon

For Fans Of: Aburden, Spectral Fires

It’s been about a month since this Melbourne-Based Melodic Hardcore band changed their lineup and musical direction. Their two new singles, “Misplaced” and “Softlight”, are actually linked together both as songs and visually by their music videos. Misplaced is the heavier of the two songs with catchy punk-rock guitar riffs and a powerfully raw vocal performance from lead vocalist Jon. The music video presents the band in silhouette form with coloured backdrops. We then see quick cuts to imagery representing the youth of today, environmental issues, corruption and greed, gritty cityscapes and peak-hour traffic. It shines a light on how we as a society have become so blind to these issues and our generation really need to step-up to the plate to find a resolution to the problems that we face daily.

Softlight, on the other hand, begins with lead vocalist Jon Rhodes and his real-life girlfriend Shenae Callahan romantically spending time together in an unknown bushland location.

The footage is played backwards and we see them together at various locations from a park scattering autumn leaves to riding in a car late at night. I guess the message behind this music video is appreciating what you have in life, especially when it comes to the people you love. It’s a soft, slow-building track with lovely harmonies between Jon and backing vocalist/guitarist Andy before ramping things up into an intense hardcore punk breakdown. It’s really encouraging to see White Crows experimenting both with their sound and with some visual concepts in their music videos.

Vocals: 9/10

Guitars: 8/10

Bass: 7/10

Drums: 8/10

Production: 9/10

Lyrics: 8.5/10

Songwriting: 8.5/10

Personal Enjoyment: 8/10