The debut single “Cain Complex” by Detroit, Michigan-based Painted Friends stands out among a plethora of alternative music, drawing listeners into an immersive soundscape with gritty guitar riffs and powerful lyricism.
Painted Friends begin their musical adventure with an unmistakably unclean electric guitar sound that sets an intimate yet engaging musical narrative. Once the vocals join, we discover storytelling lyricism rich with visual images, creating an atmospheric environment which draws audience members in with its bluesy groove.
Behind-the-scenes, frontman Jeremy McWhorter shares what inspired “Cain Complex”, an inspired work which stemmed from intense immersion into Johnny Cash’s music and an examination of Cain and Abel stories. According to him, this track is about “how I find myself thinking and behaving like Cain more often than I want to admit. It could be jealousy of others success despite the hard work that I put in with no results, or even just putting in half-effort work and expecting more in return.”
Jeremy recalls having written this song after hearing an inspirational lead guitar riff while noodling around casually, then later finding himself noodling while at work on trouble-filled days – or moments where creative inspiration struck and materialised itself during work hours in form of lines such as, “Trouble is all around.” With these moments of creative insight in his pocket, McWhorter used Cain from Scripture as his story-based inspiration, creating one song after another until “it basically wrote itself”.
Painted Friends is an alternative band from Detroit, Michigan whose goal is to inspire their audiences to appreciate life, cherish others and foster creativity. Their latest release “Cain Complex” serves as an ode to this mission by inviting audiences to reflect upon human behaviour while acknowledging echoes from ancient Cain-and-Abel stories.
Painted Friends’ music resonates with listener experiences through each note and lyric that speaks directly to our own souls, creating a deeply emotive experience with listeners who experience themselves an echo from Cain Complex within themselves and find solace through shared human experience. Painted Friends has created an emotional journey which invites us all to confront Cain within and find solace from shared human experience.
You can find more of Painted Friends at:
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You can listen to ‘Cain Complex’ below:
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.