So, you’ve found your way to the grittier underbelly of the alternative-rock scene where bands don’t simply appear—they’re resurrected from the remains of their predecessors. That’s Cheap Date for you, an Italian band that’s been punching through the noise since 2019. What are they bringing to the smorgasbord? A cocktail of 90’s nostalgia, hardcore energy, and alt-rock melodicism, topped with a fresh spritz of grunge.
Let’s not meander: Cheap Date has been busy. Fresh off a string of European gigs, they’ve recently thrown themselves into the studio, popping out now and then to tease us with their upcoming LP Promo Track, “Life In Small Town,” set to drop on September 12th. Why should you care? Because they’ve got a history of stitching together eclectic influences into a tapestry that’s uniquely their own.
“A lifetime in a small town doesn’t necessarily makes you appreciate small but significant values. Like it or not boredom, sense of inadequacy and high temperatures makes what we are today and “Life In Small Town” is one of the most representative complaint we ever wrote. It’s The Smashing Pumpkins that meets Basement.” – comments the band.
Cheap Date’s been sweating this track, calling it a collision between The Smashing Pumpkins and Basement—now that’s an intersection worth lingering at. The track’s part of a limited Bandcamp release, confined to just 30 tapes. You heard right—tapes, not Spotify playlists. It’s like the band’s dabbling in nostalgia while they comment on the ennui of modern life.
Cheap Date doesn’t mince words when it comes to their myriad influences. They’re drawing threads from late ’80s New York scenes—think Helmet and Supertouch—straight through to Seattle’s grunge era. But they don’t stop at the ’90s; they weave in newer bands like Title Fight, Basement, and Fiddlehead to create a mix that’s uniquely—well, uniquely Cheap Date.
The band is already hinting at a full-length album in 2024, but for now, “Life In Small Town” will serve as the preview, the amuse-bouche if you will.
It’s got a little of everything they’re cooking up: walls of distortion, existential ruminations, and a motley of influences that somehow synthesizes into something that sounds like, well, Cheap Date.
Want to keep the beat going?
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