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Algiers featuring Zack de la Rocha | “Irreversible Damage”
It’s been over two years since Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha dropped by another artist’s musical digs to lay down some truth in verse. The last time was 2020’s “Ju$t” by Run the Jewels. It’s heartening to hear some fierce new work from him, too, given the sad and abrupt end to Rage’s reunion tour this year after de la Rocha injured his leg during a gig in Chicago.
But even with a legend in their midst, the track belongs wholly to the genre-defying Algiers. Staying true to the band’s Atlanta roots, this lyric video takes us from a distant city skyline to the profoundly symbolic train tracks and over to the iconic murals of Outkast and John Lewis. Their upcoming album, Shook, will be out in February and includes additional contributions from rappers billy woods and Backxwash, as well as local troubadour Lee Bains. (Photo above by Ebru Yildiz.)
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Upchuck | “Our Skin”
Recently hailed as “that cool band from Georgia” by none other than Henry Rollins, Atlanta’s fiery consortium of punk, Upchuck, have simultaneously broken into another echelon of clout this year. All while managing to hang onto their DIY authenticity.
The five-piece band, which has been splashin’, bashin’ and thrashin’ for four years, includes lead singer Kaila “KT” Thompson, guitarists Spuzz Dangus and Hoffdog, bassist Armando Arrieta and drummer Chris Salado. This single can be found on their debut LP, Sense Yourself, released earlier this fall. As you watch their new video, stay tuned for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance by indie musician Faye Webster.
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Jagged Edge | “The Way That You Talk”
Atlanta’s quintessential R&B quartet emerged under Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def label with their 1997 debut album, A Jagged Era. That album title alone, for something that was literally just the first thing a group had put out, immediately announced to the world that this was an act with confidence. An act, perhaps, predestined to release 10-plus albums and perform together for decades. (Which is precisely what happened.)
What’s extra special about this video to make it our Vintage Track of the Week is that it’s about as stereotypically late ‘90s as you can get. Does it have Da Brat? Yup. Marionette-like dancing in the middle of the road? Check. All white suits on a glowing and ambiguously located soundstage? Affirmative. Entire verses seated on a giant stationary motorcycle with a comely lass in tow? Blammo. The thing is — for all its aesthetic time capsule feel, this video is also kinda glorious.
With those buttery vocals, that catchy beat and some surprisingly complex musical sampling, it turns out that they were neither jagged nor edgy. Instead, they were smooth and polished to perfection.
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