Music Review // Doug Henthorn "Forewarned and Failing"

Right away, I can hear two distinct sounds in the song "Forewarned and Failing" by Doug Henthorn.   There is this underlying driving sound which makes me think about artists in the genre of classic rock n roll, specifically along the lines of ZZ Top and Steppenwolf.  It's rock n roll with keys but it just has that way about it where you'd put it on a playlist when you're going on a roadtrip.  

At the same time Doug Henthorn channels this rather specific genre of rock music from the 1980's / early 1990's in which bands had horns but weren't ska and sang about things such as working the 9 to 5.  Perhaps one of my best examples of this would be none other than Huey Lewis and the News, though I also just imagine any of the bands who reached popularity in the height of MTV.

This music video has a certain way about it where it flashes from still images of photos or concert posters but then the moving images can just be shapes transforming, all set in a cassiopeia color scheme.  What I find most interesting though is at the start you can see this images of a tape player with the cassette in it and as it begins to focus more on the cassette there is even an image which very briefly comes in of sixteen different cassettes.  Yes, Doug Henthorn knows his audience.

"Forewarned and Failing" is the lead single off of an album due out of May 6th, 2022 and if it doesn't get you hyped up for the blend of rock n roll that Doug Henthorn is serving up then you might want to keep listening until it does.  The way this album could go in several directions yet stay grounded with its roots is just something every fan of music should be looking forward to and this is just such a great single to prepare you for that.