Featured Tune: "Rude Boys" from Thirteen
reviews
A Pulse of Rebellion from Salzburg
Thirteen’s “Rude Boys” arrives with the kind of confidence that only decades of collaboration can produce. Mike Fink and Paul Hochrainer tap into a gritty, lived-in energy here—something that feels both timeless and fiercely current. From the very first seconds, the track hums with the unmistakable warmth of analog synths, giving the whole piece a textured, tactile feel, like music built by hand rather than software.
What really makes the song compelling is its mood: steady, simmering, and quietly confrontational. Thirteen doesn’t shy away from pointing at the rough edges of today’s world, but they do it with finesse. Instead of shouting, they let the music do the heavy lifting—layering beats, chords, and subtle atmospheric shifts that mirror the tension of dealing with people who’ve lost sight of basic respect. The message lands not because it’s loud, but because it’s honest.
Recorded in their Salzburg studio, the track carries a sense of rootedness, like it grew out of the same soil they’ve been working in since the late ’80s. It’s polished without being sterile, bold without being brash. “Rude Boys” is the kind of song that lingers—not as noise, but as a thought. Thirteen has crafted a piece that feels refreshingly real in a world increasingly running on autopilot.