Features : Kentucky Rockers Orchid in the Ivy Cut through the Negativity and Noise with “Look on the Bright Side”

With one million songs released to streaming platforms every day, how does a good rock band stand out?

By making tracks listeners will want to put on repeat, like the new single, “Look on the Bright Side,” by Kentucky hard rock trio Orchid in the Ivy.

If there’s an opposite to always finding a silver lining, this song is for those people. The ones who just can’t seem to be happy. They could have a full tank of fuel, and complain about the smell of gas. You’d think they were doused in it.

For songwriter Brett Scharf, inspiration came from realizing he had grown up around negative people who were influencing his own way of thinking. Now a father, he wrote the song as a reminder.

He says, “You realize you just don't want to go through life like that, constantly looking at everything in such a poor light, and having kids now and just trying to get them to think more positively. It kind of starts with somebody willing to say, ‘Hey, it's time to change.’”

The song began as a bassline recycled from one of Scharf’s unused guitar riffs from years back. On the recording, bassist Chris Saalfeld ramps it up into an edgy and slinky bass groove, while drummer Mark Schulti adds his signature muscular backbeat and rolling fills. Scharf handles the vocals and guitar work, including a blistering guitar solo leading into the massive final chorus.

Scharf and Schulti started the band over a decade ago, with Saalfeld joining a few years later. Well before that, Scharf and Saalfeld originally met in music school. The  trio’s long history helps explain their tight sound, which combines influences like Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, and classic Foo Fighters into hard-hitting and melodic anthems that sound uniquely their own.

“Look on the Bright Side” comes on the heels of a high octane cover of “Beds Are Burning,” which injects urgent new life into the 1987 hit song by Aussie band Midnight Oil. These tracks are part of a slate of new singles adding to the band’s impressive discography, which recently includes three albums and an EP in the past 4 years.

The band’s output is not only consistent in frequency; it is also extremely high quality. Fans looking for their next favorite rock band will be excited to discover one excellent song after another in Orchid in the Ivy’s catalogue.

That their music rises above the crowded musical landscape is fitting, considering the name of the group.

Scharf says, “I was trying to get rid of some ivy in my yard and it would not go away. In it I saw a tiny flower, a bright spot amidst all the weeds. That relates to our band, standing out amongst an endless sea of music.”

A diamond in the rough. A needle in a haystack. An orchid in the ivy.

Use the links below and listen to Orchid in the Ivy’s “Look on the Bright Side” on all streaming platforms now:

Spotify
Apple Music
Amazon Music
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Official website