No Concept – “Harness Your Hopes”
No Concept is a punk-rock duo from the Midwest made up of two brothers, Kal and Kade Young. There’s an appealing catchy rawness at work on their single, “Harness Your Hopes” as the duo confidently allow their homespun guitar-driven alternative rock to bubble away without feeling the need to artificially embellish the ingredients. Created under home-studio-like conditions by Kal and Kade, this earnest song is largely crafted through a crunchy and reliable mixture of steady drums, jangling guitars, and surging vocals. No Concept have crafted a sound that retains enough originality to make it all their own and worth your time to seek out. Notwithstanding the fact that this song is actually a cover, of track by Pavement, originally released in 1997, and taken from the album “Brighten the Corners”.
No Concept strike a perfect balance between their rock sound and their punk-inspired direction, for a song that sounds both groovy and sparked by grit, with a melody that is infectious. It has an undeniable indie swagger with an undercurrent of menace. It’s literally a badass song disguised underneath an ear-warming melody. Kal and Kade simply found a balance between both worlds, but underneath the glistening tune and abrasive guitar riffs, is a darker story.
“Harness Your Hopes” offers pulse-quickening escapism that in a perfect world, would be embraced hungrily by a tired music industry. This is a song that slides and slithers. It’s rhythm is so loose and languidly captivating, it seems like No Concept is barely trying to impress. That’s how effortless they sound in their natural habitat. If the duo set-up may at first raise the question of how much can be done with only two members and a few simple musical tools, the answer here is – loads.
Truly, so confident and perfectly measured are No Concept here, that while definitely focused on the stars, they never lean into pretentiousness or glossy enhancements, allowing the music and performances to cut to the core quickly and clearly.
“Harness Your Hopes” is rock n’ roll, lit up by some pure cynicism, and witty lyricism, and there has never been a time when we’ve needed that more. Kal and Kade Young are clearly forceful architects of their own aesthetic, as they bend Pavement’s creation to fit them perfectly.
The most important thing about “Harness Your Hopes” is that this music still exists in a synthetic musical world, and probably sounds as good as it ever will. The last thing you want to do here, is start tampering with the production values, which will destroy the raw immediacy of what No Concept are doing on this cover single. Timbres, rhythms, and melodic structures evoke an imaginatively satisfying live quality, which the duo capitalize on in a meaningful way.
Prior to anything, it’s worth mentioning that it is possible to appreciate No Concept’s musical vision without even liking the genre of music, due to the authenticity they infuse into their work. Imagine that. But of course if you’re into alt-rock, dirty guitar-driven templates, and hard to resist vocal melodies. This music is a no-brainer. You’ll love it!
Sonically, “Harness Your Hopes” illustrates how tightly Kal and Kade Young have painted themselves into their own original aesthetic, despite the song being a cover, and how they have perfectly entrenched themselves into a gritty and dynamic sound, which completely separates them from their contemporaries.
