The latest single from Camden-based rockers The Graft is entitled “It’s Too Late & It’s Okay” and is a two-sided single that tells the story of a breakup. The A-side of the single titular song tells the story of a protagonist who finds his lover cheating on him. From the opening notes, you could feel the Alternative Rock and Pop-Punk influence these guys have. It’s more of a songwriting mentality than a style or aesthetic here though, as it affects both the music and the lyrics. The strong and prominent bassline played by Sam Drake leads most of the song into its angsty-yet-empowering vibes. The variation of clean melodic guitars and distorted ones beautifully serves the rollercoaster of emotions told in the story (Guitarist Rob Myrvold does a great job with this arrangement). The thunderous drums of Calvin Baena gain more power every time the chorus repeats with Peter Carr’s highly relatable lyrics. The chemistry these guys have is impeccable, and you will be surprised by how the sound feels nostalgic yet still highly fresh. A song like this would’ve made a great 90s or 2000s hit in the middle of the Post-Grunge or Pop-Punk movements, but it’s also timeless enough to still be enjoyable amidst the variety and versatility of modern-day bands.
The B-side is entitled “Don’t Mean Much” and provides much-needed closure to the story’s protagonist. It has a clean guitar with some reverb, shortly followed by distortion during the pre-chorus and chorus. The backing vocals during the chorus also emphasize how the cheating lover doesn’t mean anything anymore to our main character as he took the negative emotions he was put into and made a great motivation out of them to become a confident stage performer. It’s also got more power on the last chorus when the guitar plays a solo melody that harmonizes perfectly with the vocals. All in all, these guys know how to put out emotions as music and vice versa. Considering how this is only their third single, I can sense a great future ahead of these guys as they present their modern take on Alternative rock (with a sizzle of pop-punk) to the world. It seems like their creativity and emotional delivery both come from an honest and authentic place, and this is the winning formula for any band that wants to make it big nowadays.
