Hastings’ own alternative rock artist Al Mitchell & The Born Sinners releases brand new single “Pedal To The Metal”.
Al Mitchell has been named as Hastings town’s poster boy for shy alternative rock, but his new release “Pedal To The Metal” is anything but a shrinking violet. The artist has been honing his talent in various local bands (Baby Goliath, Somnians, King The Native) for years, and recently took his music career into his own hands with the release of his debut single “Rubber For Cars”, which saw support from BBC radio DJs and plenty of online tastemakers. “Pedal To The Metal” is the bold follow-up, brilliantly brazen and noisy from start to finish.
Set in a retro video game world (hence the ambiguously 8-bit-sounding intro), Al Mitchell explores themes of escapism, societal pressures, parenting responsibilities and the desire for redemption. The vocals, although nestled between fuzzy guitars, spout lyrics just hard-hitting enough for “Pedal To The Metal”‘s specific narrative to actually be relatable to all who listen. The story follows a couple in a working-class town where “money is low but dreams are big” as they fight their way through hardship.
“The protagonists of the story are compelled to escape, either physically: ‘I’m gonna pack up all my things and go to Mexico, maybe colder…Nova Scotia’ or by turning to drink & drugs: ‘She tried to hold her child, instead she just went wild, she cant stand straight at all, they had to call the father and say collect your daughter, her mama’s just not capable’”, Al explains.
Al Mitchell expertly delivers a message of hope and understanding, acknowledging a need to feel the fear and do it (whatever ‘it’ might be, within reason) anyway. Turtle Tempo are big fans, and we’ll be keeping an eye on this talented artist’s next releases…
Find Al Mitchell & The New Born Sinners on Instagram, Facebook and Spotify.
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