Solo projects are setting a new standard in American rock music right now, and a newfound culture of isolationism in the past year is perhaps the biggest reason why. Independent in every possible way, there’s something relatable about the sophistication a solo player like Jared Hallock can accomplish under the moniker of Project213, whose new single “Bleed With Who?” is getting the attention of rock n’ roll buffs around the country this spring – and rightly so, I might add. Project213 revives the heaviness of the old guard in southwestern hard rock with a truly fresh spin from the man at the helm of this campaign, and to me, it’s an act that needs a lot more attention than it’s been getting.
There are a diverse group of influences in play with “Bleed With Who?,” starting with the most obvious – noise, psychedelia, garage rock and moderate electropunk – but at no point does any part of this material sound like it was thrown together in some feeble attempt at cashing in on the burgeoning trend towards hybrid genres in 2021. I would judge that, from the way all of the aforementioned styles are melded into a singular juggernaut in this single, Project213 isn’t going to experiment conservatively in any capacity, and this could result in a big win for alternative fans everywhere.
Watch the video for “Bleed With Who?”
These lyrics aren’t necessarily as important as the instrumental tonality is when trying to understand the emotion at hand in this track, but I don’t want to dismiss the credibility of Hallock’s poetry in this piece at all. He’s expressing so much through the guitar and its piercing flex of muscle before the bassline that it’s often hard to really zero-in on the finer points of his vocal’s conveyances to us in “Bleed With Who?,” which I actually do find to be more of a positive than a negative artistically speaking.
Hard, heavy, tailor-made for the indie rock enthusiast but strong enough to remain swaggering without sounding self-righteous, Project213’s “Bleed With Who?” is a lightning bolt right out of the sky this March, and I’m happy it struck when it did. Lately, there hasn’t been nearly as much adventurousness in this genre as there used to be as little as twenty years ago, but Hallock is looking to turn that around with everything he can muster in “Bleed With Who?.” He wants us excited about rock again, and he’s using Project213 to spread his message perfectly.
