Haunted: Far Beyond Dreams

            This is a review of the album Haunted (2013), by Another Green World, and the third review here on Track-By-Track.

            I don’t remember exactly how I found Another Green World’s music.  It might have been that I was searching for Brian Eno's album of the same name, or I might have been just randomly searching for glo-fi bands.  Whatever the case, I found the album In Dreams by Another Green World, which turned out to be the first album by Memphis-based solo-artist Alec West.
            Haunted marks a slight yet significant change in style for West’s project; a glo-fi/dream pop release, with some acoustic guitars, a more sparse sound, and a lighter equalization.  Though at times I miss the old pleasantly-muddled and nearly-stonewalled sound of Another Green World, this solidifies West’s progression towards a kind of high-end production that is at once addictive and more accessible to listeners.  Though not every track is catchy, the ones that are, are extremely repeatable. It goes beyond In Dreams, if not as a concept, as a more etherial and genre-defying album.
            Here’s my TBT:

            “Glowing” is an instrumental intro track.  Dream pop synths, and some lo-fi drums make it sound like a portable video-game’s title screen music.

            “Moment” is a slight break in style for Another Green World.  This time, some acoustic guitars, and surf-style riffs, along with the classic analogue noises and reverb-cushioned vocals that West developed his sound with.  It’s upbeat, and placed perfectly as a second track.  The lyrics (what I can hear of them) are sweet and dreamy.  It’s a chillwave/dream pop combo that’s upbeat from the start. The drums are light, and in that just right addictive equalization, and the ending is filled with a kind of nostalgic analogue atmosphere, only describable if you’ve heard old-school synth modulation, like West’s previous work.

            “Mosiac” comes next, with a darker tone more like In Dreams.  It feels a little long, but it’s in a very dreamy lo-fi/chillwave genre-rift, and the arcade-game noises are pleasing to the ear.  I still prefer the original heavily-compressed version on West’s Vision Quest EP, but it’s great as a sparser alternate version.  Synths abounds.

            The 4th track, “Blood”, starts with a sound like leftover brostep, and then pleasantly surprises with a totally surf/chillwave pastiche of upbeat acoustic guitars, catchy drums, and insanely catchy digital tones, all in mono (though the streaming version seems to be slightly stereo).  The vocals, as we of the shoegaze ilk are used to, are obscured; loads of reverb and delays make the track suitably and lovingly alternative.  It’s very Summery, and reminds me of Observer Drift’s Fjords (the first album reviewed here on Track-By-Track).  Oddly, what I think is the refrain: “Take my blood”, is in sharp contrast to the happy and optimistic tone of the music.  This is the hit on the album, despite the good quality of the whole album.

            “Memory” is a short instrumental.  It’s something I’ve found mainly with smaller and independent bands, that they still value (and rightly so) the instrumental and experimental songs, as well as the more-traditional ones with words.  This song is short enough to remember, and long enough to define somewhere in dream pop or glo-fi (which is what I regard as a slightly less upbeat and muddier chillwave, despite the standard definition which has them as the same sub-genre).

            “When” is the 6th track; gladly another Summery dream pop one.  The beat is very catchy, and it ends way too soon for my liking.  It’s addictive, and sounds like a Spring day, erupting with loads of atmosphere; loads of good ‘80s sounds, and a great ending.  The guitars are very slightly shoegazey, and the bass is definite dream pop.  It’s that song you hear on the radio in the old days, that you never knew the name of, and never did catch who did it.  Extremely etherial.

            “Scientific” is a chorus-pedal-driven song, and the beat, as usual with West’s work, draws the listener in immediately.  This one could do better with slightly less reverb on the verses’ vocals, but only from a lyrical point of view.  They create an atmosphere of uncertainty, within an otherwise grounding, certain, track.  It’s unusual for most bands to have reverb almost exclusively on the vocals, which is definitely a plus for anyone (like me) looking for originality.

            “Passion” starts off with old-school toms, and the vocals are at the forefront of this one.  It, like the rest of the album, is refreshingly non-pitch-corrected.  The lyrics are great, especially for a kind of love song, and really work with this style.  The chorus could have more elaboration, but it’s definitely a hook.  Classic new-wave guitars and synths make it a little nostalgic.

            “Forest”, the 9th track, is another instrumental, with more of that chillwave sound.  Loads of pitch modulation covered by reverb, or perhaps vice-versa.

            “Skyscraper” is slower, and a bit like Nexus Nooka from Another Green World’s earlier Nexus Nooka/Game Genie release.  This one has the clearest vocals, and more great textured drums.  The guitars make a great shoegaze-ish backing to the track, and when they are at the forefront, it’s like listening to a pool of guitar.

            As the penultimate track, “Geologist” is a return to that super-reverb sound.  This one sounds a bit like Yung Life (the second album reviewed on this blog).  It’s very 80s, and the synths are complimented by more surf-guitar.  It’s always refreshing to hear surf done right, and this fast-paced song is in that crossover between old and faux-old, in a good way.

            “Spectre” is the final track, oddly a darker instrumental in the glo-fi subgenre.  Imagine The Killers, with a dark-ambient producer.  It doesn’t quite feel like an end to the album, though it lives up the album’s name, unlike the album’s general optimistic yet otherworldly tone.

            Overall, this album has some pretty sweet chillwave/dream pop sounds, and some tracks pleasantly defy categorization in either of these sub-genres.  This is an experience in both sparse and textured sounds, and West is well on his way to amassing a new audience, at the same time as keeping older fans satisfied.  You can stream this album for free at http://synthrecords.bandcamp.com, and buy it in CD quality at that link; and for older Another Green World releases, you can check out http://anothergreenworld.bandcamp.com.  And for the full experience, play some old VHS tapes in the background, on a heavily magnetized tv.

Fjords: Sounds of Summer

 

            Well, here it goes.  The first review, the first real day of action, here on Track-By-Track.  Hope it goes well.  Wish me luck?

             I’m reviewing Observer Drift’s second full-length album, Fjords (2013). I’ve been a fan of this artist’s music ever since I came across the LP Corridors, on a random shoegaze search on Bandcamp. I first downloaded it almost straight on to my mp3 player, and later thought: “Wow, these people are really good”. Little did I know then, it only took one person (Collin Ward, to be exact) to make these sounds. I’ve been hooked ever since. That was a year ago.
             This time, Fjords sets a new bar for quality in independent music. Many of the songs sound like they were produced and mastered in a professional studio, yet without too much attention to the standard verse-chorus-bridge stuff most songs now apply themselves to. It’s free-flowing, and above all, it sounds extremely modern, or maybe even post-modern, in a good way. I feel like this is a sample of the new style of music, whether many mainstream radio stations and labels catch on or not.

            This album is everything I hoped for and more, and won’t disappoint, whether you’re looking for relaxing or energizing music.  And it’s an interesting departure from Ward’s previous work, without ignoring or throwing out the things that made his older songs work so well.

            Here’s my TBT:

            The album starts with “Machine”, which sounds like a somewhat more modern callback to Corridors; the perfect intro to the next hour of your life.  There are some Jónsi & Alex-esque sounds, pleasantly overpowered by spacey-synths, and that trademark guitar style Ward has by now perfected.  At just over 6 minutes, I was glad to not worry about it ending too soon.  In the last third of the song, it breaks into an Arcade Fire-like amalgam of the sounds of the previous Observer Drift sounds, but again, with more modern synths, to let you know you’re in for a new ride.

            Next, comes “Sporting Chance”, which is a danceable song, and in which, the album really takes on its new style.  The vocals are deftly sung, with just enough reverb to make it mainly a chillwave song, without taking away its good-pop catchiness; and the synth and guitar hooks make it that much more awesome.

            "Azimuth" is the third track, which is a bit indie, but the (likely) pitch-treated guitar makes it transcend beyond most indie songs.  Great synth tones bring it far into the 21st century.  The lyrics are basic, and very catchy.  It builds, and though it didn’t immediately grab me, by the end of the song, I loved it.  And as you’ll probably hear in future reviews, I’m a huge fan of falsetto.

            "Riptide" brings a syncopated beat, with loads of Summer energy in the vocals and instrumentation.  The lyric: “You hit me like a riptide” makes me think of how this album pretty much immediately catches and captivates; this album will hit you like a riptide, but you’ll want to stay in its sonic ocean.  A nice synth solo in the middle brings back the good 80s style we’ve all but forgotten in modern pop, only to be abruptly stopped by the sound of rain, and an ambient guitar line, and before you expect, it's a whole new melody.  The line “Keep to the plan and don’t look back” sums up the style and pace of this album.

            The title track brings a whole new dimension to Ward’s work.  It feels like an instant hit.  The acoustic guitar and slow beat makes it mellow, yet powerful, and vocals are treated with a great eq, and heavy reverb at all the best times.  It instantly makes me think of a sunset, maybe because of the hook: “We can live tonight”.

            "Marina" comes next, and it’s reminiscent of the first Observer Drift release, Coloured My Heart Red (EP).  Love the treated or sampled tones that occassionally add some great watery mood to the song.  The lyrics didn’t catch me at first, but as with the rest of Observer Drift, it’s addictive, without bad side-effects.

            "Lingonberry" definitely showcases lo-fi influences well, and there are some great lyrics throughout.  Like many of the other songs, it has hit-quality, without losing the alternativeness which makes it so great.  It’s a bit like Ward’s first release as well.  And Ward’s lyrical skill actually made me grin during this one.

            The 8th track, "Never Strangers", is a change of style once again, sounding reminiscent of Coldplay at first.  It begins with guitar and a few soft non-guitar tones, and then, as if by request, it becomes an almost “Modern Man” Arcade Fire-style indie track.  It takes you right out of your expectations, and gets better with every second.  Some of the vocal harmonies also remind me of M83, and the lyrics are top-notch.  And the ending is really fitting.

            "Mirror Image" gets back to the sun-and-water-soaked sound Azimuth, Riptide, and Sporting Chance also showcase.  It just sounds like Summer.  The interesting guitar chords are a bit like what I expected from My Bloody Valentine after all these years, and a bit like what they came up with; but not to digress, they’re perfectly complimented by great lyrical hooks, which Ward seems to be something of a pro at writing.  It seems like some guitar tracks are slowed or pitch-changed below normal, and the electronic drum track is great, even though it only really becomes noticeable at the end.

            The 10th track, "Binary Love", was the only track to be partially released long before the album was released.  The chorus was first available on the Observer Drift Soundcloud page, and though it’s a great track, I was actually surprised that some of the levels and layers sound held-back more on this release.  I think the Soundcloud demo had more reverb, so the track feels a bit more right there.  The beat is very addictive, and with the guitar and lyrical hooks, I bet it would be great for party-style dancing.

            “Parallel Place” brings in some more Corridors-style night-mist atmosphere.  The guitars and synths perfectly compliment each other in the beginning, and then the drums abruptly show themselves.  This sounds like it would be a good ending for the album, especially because of the lyrics, but it’s actually just a slower, softer moment on the album.  It becomes an anthem, with some Sigur Rós-esque glockenspiel near the end.

            “Up in Arms” feels almost like a post-script, after what felt like the end (don’t worry, the real end is coming later); but it reminds the listener that it’s more about the continually-changing evolution from sound to sound and style to style on this album.  It’s very surfy, and has that Observer Drift sound.  Dangerously catchy.

            The penultimate track, “Gnarly Crunch”, is an instrumental track, with trancy-synths, and lightly funk-influenced bass, with a guitar that sometimes sounds like a classic vibraphone.

            The final track, “Teach Me”, is a very fitting and unexpected ending.  It’s mainly a folky song, that totally takes the listener by surprise.  Great vocals and heartfelt guitar make this perfect for the wind-down after the awake energy of most of the album.  I won’t ruin the surprise by saying any more, but though it's almost redundant to say this, it proves that this album has been about change, yet with a certain nostalgia and reverence of the past.

            Overall, this album is extremely strong, and were I a doctor, I’d prescribe it for patients as a cure for the blues (mental, not musical; blues music is great).  You can stream it for free at http://observerdrift.bandcamp.com, and you can get CD quality versions of the streaming tracks, and the final, order-only track, from that link as well.  As the line goes in the opening track of Ward’s first EP “Sometimes it pays for us to wait”.  And it certainly has with Fjords.