10 Oct 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Raw Collective - Single Review: Simple Times

09 May 2023 // A review by Peter-James Dries

I’m not here to list off Raw Collective’s pedigree.
Where they come from, where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going.  

I’m not going to tell you how far away that sax solo travelled to get here, or how filthy that rubber ducky baseline is. How clean those keys are, and how tightly them drums tie it all together.
You know the lines are tight, you know the vocals are smooth, you know the production is on point.  

Or how each of the around 36 members of the group gel together so cohesively that they make what they do seem effortless – and maybe it was for them - but it’s in no way as simple as it first sounds.  Each layer is intricate in itself, and complimentary of the rest.

Because you already know all this, and if you don’t, Raw Collective can tell you all that themselves.

No. I’m here to tell you how it sounds to me, and in truth…  
I’m kinda pissed off with Raw Collective’s new single Simple Times.

Yeah, I’ve talked before about that one advert for broadband, back when it was still a new concept in Aotearoa. That one where there was this internet collective of the most famous kiwi Hip-Hop stars of 2005, and how that really inspired me.  I’ve talked about it a lot.  Well, Raw Collective have only gone and done that for real, and it works better than I’d always hoped it would.

But it’s not jealousy, envy, what have you, that Raw Collective did what I could never do – mainly because I’m no musician and could never pull it off... But still.

That’s not what’s annoying me.

What’s pissing me off is Simple Times was quietly released just shy of New Zealand Music Month, and we’re now on what, day 9?  That means I’ve been staring (metaphorically) at this song for nearly two weeks, and I still don’t know how to review it.

It’s really difficult to be objective when Simple Times feels like home.  It feels classic.  It feels like us, in that whole one people / metaphysical sense.  It feels like it’s always existed, and was always meant to be.  The pieces of the puzzle came together the only way they could have, and it’s perfect.

There’s usually an angle, you know.  Some flaw you can skirt around (or totally ignore if you like the band enough).  They showed bravery for doing the complete opposite of what any other musician would do in that position.

I can’t even fall back on that…  There are no flaws. No mistakes. Nothing neglected or rushed.  
There is talent, optimism, and that bloody sax solo.

So all I’ll say is this. Simple Time is funky, jazzy, and grooves harder than any gym grunter.  It’s full of positive vibes, which is rare in this world, but positive vibes are what Raw Collective are known for, and it’s something they slap at.  

You can find Raw Collective’s Simple Times wherever you usually find music. I ain’t here to judge you on your choice of platform and for listening to music wrong.  What right do I have, when I let a simple review of an amazing song beat me.

Five of five stars.

Rating: ( 5 / 5 )
 

About Raw Collective

Appearing on the scene with their first music video Coins (Memories) which won single of the year on Radioactive.fm and support from independent radio stations across the country, Raw Collective set themselves on a path to make inspiring original music and back it up with an energetic live show.

Since then, the crew have released their debut full album gaining critical acclaim, write ups and radio play around the world.

The last two years have seen the band hit the road with two NZ tours and a successful 5-show Australian tour in March 2019.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Raw Collective

Releases

The Good Things
Year: 2021
Type: Album
For The Ancients
Year: 2018
Type: Album
Wise Horizons
Year: 2014
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Peter-James Dries

Ra Charmian - Album Review: Waiata Wairua
08 Oct 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
Waiata Wairua is an album that wouldn’t feel out of place performed in a late night jazz hall in some alternate history where the successes of the Maori battalion lead to a proliferation of Te Reo worldwide. The sort of interest that saw your dad singing in French in the 60's, when Mireille Mathieu was knocking about.
Read More...
Ben Lloyd - Album Review: Leap of Faith
26 May 2024 // by Peter-James Dries
For over 30 years, this self-taught rocker from Mt Maunganui has been writing music. Now, for the first time since 2013, we finally get to hear his songs.
Read More...
Yann Le Dorré - Album Review: The Circus is Closed
19 Dec 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
“We are Sex Bob-Omb and we're here to make you think about death and get sad and stuff!” - Scott Pilgrim vs.
Read More...
Sanoi - Album Review: Echoes Of Home
25 Nov 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Electronica offers no escapism for me. It’s more of what I already have.
Read More...
Throng - EP Review: Decoherence
20 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
You know that thing where the letter B has a personality, or words have textures and colours? That’s called synaesthesia.
Read More...
Fortress Europe - Album Review: Old World
10 Oct 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
Have you ever been torn between listening to Mozart or Periphery? Does Epica have too much of that darn singing for your tastes?
Read More...
Yurt Party - Album Review: Yurt Party
07 Sep 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
It sure isn't summer, and this is really not the Balkans, but Yurt Party’s new self-titled album refutes that. Back with another one of them Balkan rocking beats, Yurt Party’s debut is jazzy, erratic, and full of zest and energetic grooves, with flavour notes of ska, dub, and bergamot.
Read More...
day13n - Album Review: /7/13/7/
06 Aug 2023 // by Peter-James Dries
I’m too old for this world. We’ve devolved to the point where music is only as good as the soundtrack to your 10 second TikTok, and the thirty thousand copies recycling the idea.
Read More...
View All Articles By Peter-James Dries

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TIMELESS
    The Weeknd And Playboi Carti
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TOO SWEET
    Hozier
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem