Music Review // Reluctant Zero "Hurt No More"

 

https://open.spotify.com/album/37Y6mNC6J5HfI5fPR3gGtb?highlight=spotify:track:3HC9YMqF7nWUzmWNLe2u6K

Right away when I hear the song "Hurt No More", with the stop and start guitar chords, Reluctant Zero makes me think of the band Lit.   There was this time when alternative rock went from grunge into something else, an era filled with bands like Lit, Eve 6, Stroke 9, Barenaked Ladies... it just goes on and on.  And you still hear a lot of the songs on the radio today and maybe younger listeners think they're part of that grunge movement but they came after bands like Nirvana and Alice In Chains.  I also specifically remember going to several dates on a tour involving Lit, 22 Jacks and Shades Apart and I think Reluctant Zero would fit in there quite well.

This music video shows Reluctant Zero as a superhero of sorts and there is a fight inside of a ring against Batman.   While I know it seems visually easier to have Batman as the opponent in this one, I think this is more like that old idea of "You don't tug on Superman's cape".  If Reluctant Zero was going up against Superman it might be less obvious to know it was Superman, but also I just think it's nice to be able to read into things like if you don't tug on Superman's cape then what is it that you shouldn't do to Batman (try and pull his mask off?) and is Reluctant Zero doing that in this video.

From a lyrical standpoint, I wish this song was all over the radio.   I wish people had it built into their very being the way that some of those radio songs can come on decades later and I still know all the words.  The idea here is about not wanting to see *you* hurt any more.   So whether you want to use this as a look in the mirror or as a way to simply feel more empathy to your fellow humans, I think the message stands.  I remember growing up always feeling like if someone else was being cheated it'd be like cheating me because if it happens to them for whatever reason it could happen to me just as easily, right?  It was a sad day when the world taught me that not everyone sees it that same way.

With a fun music video (also featuring footage of the band playing the song), a sweet guitar solo near the end and just the overall way that the lyrics can be so simple and you can sing along with them on the surface but then really think about them later and get the deeper message just makes this song a hit.   If the current rock radio stations weren't so focused on playing songs from the past instead of helping new artists by playing them, I'm certain we would hear this one on the radio regularly.  But, hey, maybe we can sneak it in and see if they notice since Reluctant Zero does have that late '90's sound they seem to crave.