Barista Release New Music

Bravado can sometimes come off as being a little unnecessary in a lot of pop music, but this isn’t usually the case with quality rock n’ roll. Barista doesn’t run away from indulgent songwriting or showing off for the audience in the new album Justice Now, but they’re also careful to balance a passion for the medium with conscientious lyrics that tell us a lot about what really matters to this act. Filled with songs like “I Exist, Right?” and “Breath” that don’t remain within a box that was pre-designed by scene politics, Justice Now feels like the kind of LP hard rock fans needed to hear in 2022.

Swagger doesn’t just come from the action at the mic in “Anything,” “The Night Train,” and “Justice Now,” but instead from the complete girth of the music as the arrangement presents it.

There’s never a moment where Barista sounds singular with the expression in this record, but it’s also worth noting that nothing sounds spread particularly thin, which is one of the frequent drawbacks of making a piece like Justice Now. “Cage” closes on as full a note as we begin with, which doesn’t feel as overwhelming as it does complete and satisfying for those who need something more intense than a lone track can produce.

I only found out about Barista through Justice Now, but just based on the credibility of the music found in this record I would have to assume that we haven’t heard the last of this act for anything. In all honesty, there are some loose ends in the conceptual approach towards songs like “Bitch” and “Lonely By Choice” that I want to see tied up in a follow-up release, which will hopefully be coming our way a lot sooner than later. Rock fans need something to be excited about right now, and Barista just might have it with the fiery delivery they’re dishing out here.

Michael Rand