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- September 20th, 2024, 06:19 pm
Summer Tastes Like Flowers
Bathe “Avalon”
“Avalon” is a song about wanting to be somewhere else. You can go a few different directions with that idea – like, you could focus on conveying discomfort, dissatisfaction, a burning desire to get out of your current setting. The R&B duo Bathe opted for evoking the place they’d rather be. The music is calm, the vibe is positive, the mood is romantic. They’re setting intentions, they’re visualizing a better way of living. There’s still a bit of tension where can hear how the song is tethered to reality, but the beauty of the song is in how they focus on desire.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
Balthvs “Like Coconut Water”
The Colombian trio Balthvs draw on pretty much the same pool of eclectic international influences as the American trio Khruangbin, to the point that a lot of their music could pass as Khruangbin. But of course, most Khruangbin music sounds just like recordings by artists scattered around the globe who aren’t nearly popular enough to play amphitheaters, so is it actually fair to say they sound alike? I think it’s fair to say they’re fellow travelers, and the success of Khruangbin has opened some doors, which is unambiguously positive for vibey groovy musicians around the world. In any case, “Like Coconut Water” is an especially lovely and relaxing piece of music with a gorgeous reverb-heavy guitar tone. There are some words sung in a gentle voice, but they’re very much lyrics in the “subtitles for the music” vein – images of flowers, fruit, perfect summer days.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
https://www.fluxblog.org/2024/09/summer-tastes-like-flowers/
https://www.fluxblog.org/?p=13288
- September 20th, 2024, 02:55 am
There Is No Heaven When I’m Not With You
Daniela Andrade “Biking”
The keyboard and percussion parts the verses of “Biking” are so soft and subtle that it sounds like they’re nervously and very carefully tip-toeing around the vocal. This suits the lyrics perfectly, as Daniela Andrade is essentially confessing that she’s in love. She’s addressing the “you” that she’s fallen for, but I think a lot of the lines are really about her processing the emotions and being honest with herself. She pushes back against the parts of herself that might be skeptical or embarrassed – “it sounds so needy, but yes, I need you” – and admits that being terrified about this relationship actually feels good somehow. Andrade allows the fear and the elation to sharply contrast but also swirl together and blur as the song moves along. It ends up sounding more lovely than angst-ridden once you reach the ending, which is what you’d hope for in a situation like this.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
https://www.fluxblog.org/2024/09/there-is-no-heaven-when-im-not-with-you/
https://www.fluxblog.org/?p=13286
- September 17th, 2024, 07:33 pm
Demolition Looming
Lunar Vacation “Sick”
I had to see the lyrics of “Sick” in print to pick up on some crucial context – my ear didn’t catch the phrase “luxury apartments” because the melody wraps around the very Wilco-esque chords in a way that puts those two words in separate lines. I initially took this song pretty much at face value – she’s literally sick, she’s in an apartment – but it’s more about looking at real estate for the rich as a harbinger of the apocalypse. And as with a lot of King Gizzard songs fixated on the devastation of climate change, Lunar Vacation are rooting for Mother Nature and not humanity here. “The Earth is finally taking back her children,” Grace Repasky sings, sounding vaguely relieved.
Buy it from Bandcamp.