BEST NEW ALTERNATIVE POP: MISSIO - MIDDLE FINGERS

Equal parts electronic and alternative rock a la Imagine Dragons, Austin duo Missio have been making noise with a showcase at SXSW last week, and the release of several sleek songs that kinda make me want to lurch around in a dark alley. We Are: The Guard are big fans of one particular song, for the soundscapes it creates but also for its message. Come on, everyone. Put your middle fingers up.

MISSIO - MIDDLE FINGERS

Now I’m a jaded loser with bouts of anti-socialness, and I’m reaching that point in the mid-20s where going out to a club induces a strange anxiety. So when I hear Missio singer Matthew Brue wallowing about how he’s tired of pretty people, I’m like, “YASSS, someone finally gets me.” The entire song lists off micro annoyances that is disturbingly similar to my own short list of pet peeves (music, for example. If I have to hear The Chainsmokers playing in my Uber one more time….), and for this reason alone, “Middle Fingers” is appreciated.

The song itself has a production that veers a tad more to the pop side for my liking -- the background harmonies in the chorus might be the cause of this -- but there’s a subtle breakdown towards the end that sprinkles some dark electronic elements that give “Middle Fingers” a trip hop vibe for a moment, albeit brief. Missio’s overall aesthetic is interesting, and their other single “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea” emits that dark alternative sound that the radio needs more of.

Listen to all the songs Missio has released thus far on their Soundcloud.