Maybe it's more that by having two concepts I thought were opposed become intertwined in music, a song can make me more aware of some sort of cosmic unity. Or at least, momentarily fool me into believing that there is such a thing.
It seems like whenever I try to investigate my own strong reactions to music, I arrive at one of these contrasts/paradoxes. Maybe this concept is just so abstract and malleable that I can apply it to any intense experience. Either way, I plan to explore this idea through weekly posts, where I open something new (and write about why or their earlier stuff) and close something old (trying to give it one last chance to see if anyone can turn me back on to it).
ON:
YACHT - Shangri-la
Yacht - Psychic City by SDP
Yacht's "See Mystery Lights" won me over with "Psychic City." They have an infectious, yet reserved energy. They manage to balance bounciness and distance: the type of distance you create when you put on sunglasses and no one can see where you're looking. Claire L. Evans speak-sings, her delivery somewhere between some who is totally accustomed to living in a world with kitchens that talk and someone who is completely bewildered, longing to know the mystery of each object's secret life. Listen to the difference in energy between the words "I used to live" which are sort of thrown off in speaking voice and the sudden longing of "and our eyes would meet."
Before I get too dragged down into analyzing details, let me step back and take a swing at the overall impression. YACHT are throwing the best party ever, have invited me, but don't really care if I go or not.
Hopefully Shangri-La wins me over too!
OFF:
WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
WU LYF - We Bros by wilcow
The album sounds really flat to me. Maybe it's the church recording. That's fine since I can usually look over stuff like that for lo-fi acts but I guess it interacts poorly for me with the rest of what they're doing. The vocalist sounds like he is always yelling at the top of his lungs. Overall the band seems to be aiming for heaviness, and I respect how far they got with clean reverbed guitars but it doesn't feel like they really got there on any song.
Do I need to listen to it louder? Is there a song I should retry? Maybe I have to see them live?
