Known for their heavy beats and sharp lyrics, The Unlikely Candidates have, unexpectedly, found a way of creating a relaxing void within the music industry.
Their relaxing demeanor was, more or less, fated for the band at its conception. High School friends, Jared Hornbeek and Kyle Morris, the bassist and vocalist respectively, sort of fell into their instruments and their passion later than most. At some point between house parties and underground performances, they sorta just wagged their heads at one another to try this thing, this music thing. They were 18 years old at the time. When most kids are preparing for college, planning for Spring break, having an eye on some far-out prize in their future, Jared and Kyle tripped into their future head first. They picked-up Kevin Goddard on the drums, Brenton Carney on lead guitar, as well as Cole Male also on the guitar on their long way down.
And they all never really stopped falling. As painful as that phrase appears, one could say that every missed step in this metaphor resulted in physical success. They brought an unusual sound to their small town and an individual aspect to fans around the world.
Reworking forgotten techniques and compounding traditional aspects of genres together, they have forged a new road for indie musicians alike. Taking the fast and steady beat in the background of most pop, the story-telling aspect from folk, and throwing in unexpected ingredients in the mix, one is never quite sure what their getting out of a new release from The Unlikely Candidates. Variety, although frequently attempted by many, is seldom found to be exceptional in artists.
Which just makes us all wonder, what can we expect next from The Unlikely Candidates? Although they were able to take some time out of their projects to talk to me, they revealed very little in the way of specifics. But they did guarantee an assortment of works in progress. What I can pass on, straight from Jared and Kyle, is that they hope to release an array of singles in a few months. Until then, we must all be satiated by their most recent release, “Novocaine,” they fact that they are currently writing new music, and they are headed on tour.
It could be said that their success has surpassed their own ambition. Since when they were asked what their goals for the music industry was, Jared said, “this is about it, writing good music for a living. Enough to survive.” With that response, it is clear that their relaxing origins haven’t faded. Their example is a model we should all take from: weighing our passions over all of the worldly stressors and enticing distractions could put some much needed perspective in all our lives. Not to mention alleviating tons of anxiety from thousands of shoulders, taking advice from The Unlikely Candidates could serve us all some good.
Especially when their message to their fans is, “find something your passionate about and follow the dream. Keep it alive and life will be better.” And while we’re listening to their advice, we might as well listen to their music too.
Art in Your World 