something or nothing

Remy Turi has ninety monthly listeners on Spotify. I do not know why it is this low. She has a gifted voice, a talent for composition and can write good lyrics. I came across her latest EP “slow burn”, which she released in June last year, and was enthralled by it.

The EP is very consistent, and the hyper-thematic feel works very well.
Something or nothing stands out for being more interesting compositionally and more upbeat. The contrast between the chorus and the verses is so powerful (I’m impressed that both are interesting, different and good), and it helps make the song more than just the sum of its parts.

“we could we could be golden and silver and bronze”

That’s the first line of the chorus. It is amazing. Remy’s voice sounds immaculate, and her conviction carries across to the listener brilliantly. She sings with desperation for the “we” and how perfect it would be. Not because of anything that could happen, but instead an intrinsic perfection. First, second, nothing, or everything: it doesn’t matter.

“we could be we could be something or nothing at all”

The switch to “or” rather than “and” is interesting here. It adds to the desperation, but there is something more to it, which I cannot seem to put my finger on it. There is almost a double entendre here too. It both means that their situation doesn’t matter, as long as they are together, Remy will be happy, and that if they are not together, it would be a disaster.

“I could I could be reckless or so sensible,
“I could be something, or I could be nothing”

The final two lines add to the desperation and reinforce the idea of how amazing they would be together. Lyrically, they add very little, but they help to carry the power of the chorus and are a positive addition, not a detriment. It would have been nice to see something more substantial here, but it doesn’t matter, as the chorus is incredible.

Changing the final line to “We could be something, or we would be nothing” could help with this. The change is slight, but it keeps the powerful plosives and makes the line a little more interesting. It’s almost a threat

“something or nothing” is a brilliant song. Almost built around the chorus, the comparison to Odysseus’s house, which he built around his bed, seems fair: distinct, special, and the finest you can imagine. Remy blends it into the rest of her song perfectly too. It’s hard to fault.

Based on this, Remy Turi should go somewhere. She is talented in every way needed to be successful, a touch of luck is all that’s left, but with the quality here, she might make her own.

Him

The prominent British YouTuber James Marriott is not best known for his music. That’s why “Him” was so surprising. James’s previous song, “Slow Down”, didn’t resonate with me, and neither does the rest of his new album. Him stands out for its energy and passion.

Him tells a story of James being jealous of a man whom a former love interest has chosen over him. Despite the weakness of many of the lyrics, some stellar lines carry the song. For example, the chorus is excellent. It artfully depicts both a specific scene that haunts James and his general emotions about the guy.

Choosing to focus on the man who replaced him, rather than his ex, was a stroke of genius from James. It gives an insight into his personality and mental state. The man was a persistent threat to James’s relationship: James knew it would be him, but didn’t know why. He feels inadequate. He still has some feelings for the woman that seep through, but his pain overshadows these feelings.

The bridge is the other standout choice. The choice to repeat the quatrain works very well, and the accompanying music brings out the best in the lyrics. The repeated quatrain positions James to be in one of two places: either he is painfully desperate to get some answers, or he knows the answers and cannot accept them. The clear pause between the lines separates one of the sentences into two distinct parts. It seems like he is almost struggling to speak: further evidence towards his desperation.

Musically, James has done very well to avoid being monotonous. He went for a sound that makes this a challenge, and he has pulled it off well. The lyrics aren’t the best, and the music more than makes up for it.

Him is a good song. I hope that it is a taster of what else we can expect from him, rather than a one-off hit.

Eventually, Darling

Declan McKenna is probably the single best musician I have ever had the privilege of enjoying. His work is invigorating and fresh, and his range is extraordinary. From masterpieces like Brazil to the more sullen performances like Paracetamol, Declan always maintains his powerful talent for storytelling and social commentary, without being on the nose.

In September of 2020, he released his second album: Zeroes. Powerful ballads like Rapture stole the show, but my stand out track from this was “Eventually, Darling”. Despite only being out for three months of 2020, it was my second most listened to song of 2020.

There’s just something about it. It’s the same magic as Paracetamol but with a little more fill. Perhaps it was the context of how awful and lonesome a year it was, but Eventually, Darling just did it for me. Declan himself even said, “it was the song that sparked the album”. It’s a song about change and loss.

The entire song is full of a lust for past things. The sound, while novel, isn’t the modern, cutting edge stuff that Dec usually delivers. It doesn’t feel like Dec is singing about anyone: he is singing an ode to an era. The last hurrah for a difficult year in a strange decade.

Henderson-Introduction and Spotlight

A few weeks ago, a band called “Henderson” reached out to me to ask me to review their new track, when they release it. Unlike the rest of my reviews, where I pick my favourite artists, I’m walking into this blind. They have released an EP of four tracks and a single, so far. The best of which are “Make My Day” and “Animal”.

Make My Day

The band’s first single, “Make My Day”, has one of the strongest bass guitar melodies I have heard. It is fantastic! It gets you moving and uplifts your spirits. The song also has a catchy hook and a great drumline. Josh Rhodes, the lead vocalist, sounds exceptional, especially considering what sounds like a restricted use of autotune. The song follows Josh’s breakup and the peculiar emotions he feels after it. He isn’t as broken as he might have anticipated. He makes ends meet, and life carries on the same. He still enjoys his life and lives the same. There is a hint at a disguised sadness though revealed by the mention of getting high. The mentioning shows that it is abnormal somehow, perhaps because he has started to us or has augmented his usage. There are also a few refrains, which connote that he is perhaps trying to convince himself that he is, in fact, okay, and is, in fact, making do. It’s a great sound with more than acceptable lyrics, so definitely worth a listen!

Animal

“Animal” was the first track on their EP “Skin On Skin“. The first half of the song sounds marvellous. Josh is constantly on point, and the echo on him and the discordant guitars riffs sound flawless. From “my animal inside” to the “turning green” line sound incredible and are so screamable. They are simply magical! The stillness, the weak peak, the return to that former tranquillity and the explosion make for an exciting and beautiful melody and crescendos. It really is a fantastic piece of music. Except for the fact that it’s four and a half minutes long. The ultimate minute should have been excluded: it makes the song worse. There is a pretty bland forty-five second long instrumental, followed by a repeat of the chorus, but with super-heavy guitar riffs, which drown out everything else. I love the song, and I don’t think that a remaster, where these few issues here and there are cleaned up, would go amiss. Nevertheless, it is fantastic. The strain Josh puts himself in the first half under sounds present and tangible. It is recommendable, despite the issues, and well worth a listen nevertheless.

So Henderson clearly have a pedigree comparable to much more popular bands, and definitely, deserve more than their hundred monthly listeners. I’m excited to release my review of their new release. I’ll be doing so with their release, so look out for it later this month!

The Rooves-Television

“Television” is The Rooves’ latest single. It may not be as upbeat as the Henstock’s EP, but that is for a good reason. The song seems to deal with the boredom of the world, and how it aggravates the depressive, hyper-competitive nature of today’s society. Perhaps this is a somewhat gloomy material, but it resonates with me well. It is an issue, which I feel plagues today’s youth. One of the things which makes a vast difference in music for me is how intricately I know the song. Every track I have heard of The Rooves-apart from Blue 1903 (but more on that later)-I know so well. I can recall the words by heart, and I could recognise the melodies anywhere. Television and Nausea are the two I know best.

The song opens with an extremely distinctive beat on the guitars. It sounds astounding and sets up the song so well. Its peal is just incredible. Charlotte, the lead vocalist, joins in immediately after this first beat. Dan and Leyton support her with discordant, shriek-like, riffs. The riffs are unquestionably related to the opening one and sound great. They have an echo on them that you can pick out even through the drums later in the song. Ross also supports with a soothing bass line on the guitar. Charlotte opens by singing about some length of time she has spent talking to a good friend. This friend is shown to have a romantic interest in her in the second quatrain, which adds a lot of meaning to the first. She is trying to decode what this person is saying to her. Her struggle in doing so might be the fault of an overbearing set of feelings for her. You get the sense that she wants to respond, but her friend won’t stop talking over her. It wouldn’t matter if she could respond anyway because he would infer his own agenda on top of whatever she would say. Those unreciprocated feelings cloud his comprehension of her. They have been talking like this for a while now, and Charlotte appears to want to leave. She uses “a few more” to show this desire to restrict the time they will spend together. She doesn’t need romance: she wants friendship. She wants to treat this man as a friend because he is such a good friend-she couldn’t ruin that. The inflexion on “alo-ong” is such an amazing choice. The doubling of the “o” and the pitch drop are so incredible. It shows her dismay and disapproval at his attempts to seed feelings in her. Brendon joins in with the drums here, and he sounds great. She believes he would be a detriment to her, nothing more than a distraction-and for what? There is a boundary stopping their courtship, so it would be futile to try and invent it. Charlotte employs repeated rhetoric to emphasize this foolishness. In the final quatrain of this verse, however, she changes her mind. She seems to accept his feelings for her. She keeps their newly-formed relationship hidden from the world to protect it from the obstacle. The next line is either an imperative or a narrative. The imperative reading would suggest that she wants to help him through this loneliness and be there for him. The narrative reading would show that Charlotte views that as one of the more influential moments of the evening: showing her loneliness and struggle with it. In this understanding, she is comforted by the knowledge that others struggle the same. Many people are comforted by things like this. Theresa Jarvis of YONAKA admitted to feeling like this in an interview with Kerrang, which I referenced in my previous review. I feel like the next two lines support this narrative reading, as she seeks this comfort of being physically linked to him. She asks him in a regal way, then commands him to do the same. The instruments quieten behind this command, which is a fantastic addition.

The chorus follows this immediately. The drums and guitar pick up, creating the most magical melody. Charlotte’s voice doesn’t let it down-it’s incredible! She sings that their relationship isn’t the stereotypical idol of a relationship, as you might see on television. The hold on the first syllable of “TV” contrasted to the short second syllable is brilliant. I always have to shout that line to get the emotion behind it across. There is a short gap between the lines, which lets the fantastic instruments shine through. I think that there is a hidden meaning behind this, though. I feel that the “false sense of security” maybe security from being discovered. They are such an unexpected couple that no-one would guess they were one. It’s not enough to hide it though-they will be found out despite it. I think that the use of “Just another” is much more interesting, however. It highlights a volatility in our society which has damaged Charlotte so much that, she won’t fall foul to it anymore.

The instruments settle into the second verse. Charlotte poses a rhetorical question, which explains why she fell for him. She is so used to the boredom, that the enjoyment she got surprised her. Each syllable of “make time fly” is dragged out, which exaggerates the change. She has waited and waited for this feeling, for what felt like forever, but it never reached her: she has just been bored senseless for so long. She believes that when it would happen on its own accord, she will be dead and forgotten by all. She repeats this with a distancing, echoey effect, which sounds so good. The verse finishes by calling out the competitivity of society and addressing how it can mentally cripple the youth. Every single teen and young adult takes the “different” path to be something, and it’s depressing to have to deny your identity.

The next chorus begins immediately and leads into another verse. The verse maintains the same instrumental, but Charlotte sings a little faster here. She sings about her frustration in their relationship. No matter what she does, her words to him fall flat. Whenever they’re together, he is always pre-occupied or distracted. He always picks an opposing opinion to hers, no matter the matter. Charlotte feels estranged by this. She feels unloved by him because of it, and I don’t think she’s wrong.

The song ends a double repeat of the chorus. The drums and guitars are more present. This heaviness gives the lyrics new meaning. It’s indefinitely bad to be the way they are. Charlotte sounds dismayed by this-it’s almost palpable. The ultimate chorus reverts to the mood of those before it. The closing line is instantly repeated and is great. The song concludes with a brief, guitar-rich, instrumental. I approve of the sweeping keyboard-esque synth, which populates the last moments. It a fantastic touch and closes the song well.

Television is a great song in so many regards. It manages to vocalize the feelings of such a large portion of our generation, with a sound that’s novel and amazing. The Rooves are fantastic. You should listen to them (and promptly add them to as many playlists as you can). They deserve it. I have no idea why they only have 900 monthly listeners, but you can and should make that number fairer!

The Rooves-Introduction

“The Rooves” are one of the most underappreciated bands I think exist. Their sound is so perfect for their talent set, and the music they make is just extraordinary. I have loved them since before “Henstock’s”. I played “Television” to one of my friends the other day. His immediate response was “Who are these guys? They’re fucking good!” I think that pretty much says it all! I’m going to review “Television” first, and then “Henstock’s”. I will also probably have a crack at whatever follows in the footsteps of these giant tracks!

YONAKA-TMTF Part 1

“Teach Me To Fight” is YONAKA’s next EP. The EP is once again fantastic. The band are much more consistent and polished across it. There isn’t an epic like “Heavy”, but they produce some excellent music in this release.

“Fired Up”

“Fired up” is a perfect example of when YONAKA don’t quite nail it. They overfilled the sound and, as a result, it can come off as flat. Theresa, the ad-libs, the backing tracks, the instruments and the synth all sound fantastic on their own, but it’s like pieces of different puzzles. In places, “Fired Up” is a bit of a mismatch of YONAKA’s best hits. Don’t get me wrong-it’s good. Honestly, I love it. It’s got chantable, anthemic lyrics and it still is YONAKA’s marvellous skill. It would be one of my favourites, were it marginally cleaner.

The song opens with a distant Theresa singing “All fired up”. Some interesting synth and guitars playing a measured, simple beat support her. The guitars are unbelievable! They supply a rigid structure and sound incredible. The synth introduces the song well, but I’m not sure about its place in the verse. The ad-libs sound awesome though and almost make up for it. This verse is a perfect example of the clutter I mentioned: the synth adds one too many moving parts. It sounds so good despite it, but I think a less intrusive synthetic would be better. Theresa is amazing in the opening stanza: she sings rhythmically, and the lines flow off her tongue. Her accent compliments the tone so well too. She immediately shows the character of her love by showing her sincerity towards him. She doesn’t want to seem brazen or impolite, so, she must state her intentions to make sure that they are noticed and appreciated. In the next pair, she further shows her affection for him by describing the sacrifices she would make for him. She is wildly passionate for him, but an inkling of fear creeps into her mind, making her question whether he would go as far. Theresa continues revealing the cracks in their bond with a cliché comparison to the famed couple Bonnie and Clyde. It is a fine choice though, as it reveals to us what standard she aspires to. There is a contrast between these middle pairs: she doesn’t feel like she’s in a relationship of that sort. They aren’t close enough to trust each other to make the ultimate sacrifice. Furthermore, the reality of their pairing is that they are careless and irresponsible. The last two lines show how their outward appearance may not truly represent them. Theresa reveals the mental anguish he causes her. This is something she was already struggling with at the time, as she explained in an article for “Kerrang“:

“This, being a horrible thing called anxiety with spells of depression, which I couldn’t recognise for what it was at the time. I thought there was something seriously wrong with me.”

This leads into the first pre-chorus. They decided to suppress the synth a little, which is a great improvement compared to the verse. Theresa sings in a rhythmic, metrical way. The meter for the pre-chorus is very interesting. The odd lines start with two anapestic feet, a pyrrhic foot and a spondaic foot, whereas the even lines trade the pyrrhic for an additional spondaic. The ending line is shortened to just the first three feet. Theresa addresses her lover, posing a rhetorical question. She interrogates him about his past but weirdly hopes for what would typically be the negative answer, subverting our expectations. The spondaic foot places “reckless” at a higher pitch, making it seem idealogical. This adds to that subversive effect. The next two lines are plainly insipid. There is a boring cliché and then a non-sensical line. How do you wear a waist as a necklace? Where else would you wear a necklace? It just doesn’t make sense. The quatrain concludes with a lyric which comes off as almost apologetic. Theresa acknowledges she used to be an awful romantic and is no longer the same as before. I feel that the under-pronunciation of “I’ve changed” shows she is embarrassed by it. She is hoping that she was able to change, and her efforts weren’t futile.

The drums climax and the chorus begins immediately. Theresa is supported by backing vocals, which make her sound epic. The chorus is one of the best sections of the song. In the chorus, we are shown the mental state of the two lovers. They’re angry at each other and themselves to the point where they’re fed up of it. The delivery of “minds” is astounding. The meaning behind the mumbled “I’ve changed” is revealed: Theresa hasn’t been the best to him, and he is tired of her. She adjusts how she expresses her self-betterment by using the verb as a gerund, changing it as she wants to change herself. She feels like she is now good enough for him because she has forced herself to be “made” for him. There is irony in the final line. In the previous verse, she asked whether she could trust him, but now she tells him the opposite.

The backing vocals fade, Theresa’s accent returns and the instruments return to normal. Theresa further sings about how she has self-improved. She considers herself free of her past sins. This purity is immediately contrasted with her “darkest dreams”, showing she still has more to do in terms of improvement, but she believes herself to be more than good enough. Her main flaw is her hubris-she assumes she could ever become clean, and even boasts it. The next line shows Theresa’s disconnect from the situation. She believes that he fears her past, whereas it might just be her. All of the pain she has caused has crafter a fear set deep in his heart. Three following five lines are lacklustre. They lack any discernible purpose, apart from being a PDA. However, two pose an interesting hypothetical. Theresa says that if she were to be interrogated, she might as well be dead if she gave up her “baby”. This is presumably because after being betrayed like that, he wouldn’t want her anymore-especially considering the issues Theresa has already revealed to us. Without him, she is lifeless-she isn’t as good as dead; she is dead.

A pre-chorus and a chorus follow this. The pre-chorus is nearly the same as before, but there are two adjacent choruses. The pre-chorus has two slight meaning changes. The former changed “if” to “’Cause”. This removal of uncertainty shows that they have become closer and have got to know each other better. The latter emphasizes that they are still together and struggling through as a couple. For the link between choruses, the last line and the first mix to make “You still get fired up”. It adds an iterative effect to the rest of the number. These awful arguments continually happen, week on week. They seem to resolve themselves, but it is never long before another issue arises. The bridge finally arrives, and, in typical YONAKA fashion, it is incredible. There is a short instrumental before it, which is composed most distinctively of cymbals and guitar. This melody is maintained behind Theresa in the bridge. She reveals to him that she feels bound to the dysfunctionality of their relationship-but she almost enjoys it. His game is criticizing her. Whenever she resolves an issue, he invents another. She chooses to resist the urge to do wrong at long last: she is truly a changed woman, but he doesn’t care. He concocts these issues anyway.

This leads to a clone of the prior chorus. However, the first quatrain is quiet, apart from a bar of fading drums. Thersa applies her range to generate an innocent quietness, and I love it. The synth, which rebuilds itself before the hiatus, is astonishing. The lull is superb. It makes for an awe-inspiring segment. After the second chorus, there is a brief outro. It consists of the ultimate line, which is sung twice. It’s a fabulous final flourish and completes the song.

I love “Fired Up”. It is amazing to sing and a fantastic song. The sound is so appealing, especially in the quietened segment. It is such a shame that the first verse is so cluttered. Please do listen to it though. It is well worth a listen-and an excellent song.

Waves

“Waves” is another excellent track from YONAKA. Theresa employs her vast talents, and the rest of the band support her so well. It is a lot like “Fired Up”, just without the overcrowding. It also seems to continue the story of the same romance, except the situation has further deteriorated.

“Waves” opens with a synth-heavy introduction. The last beat of each bar in it sounds so amazing. After four bars of this super digital sound, some drums, guitar and other more typical sounds kick in and stay on loop for four more bars. They sound great and definitely add to the song. Then Theresa joins in with a tone of voice I just love: it suits the song perfectly. The bass in this verse is eath-shattering: I feel myself tense up on every beat! The combination of it and her accent make for a fantastic sounding verse. Theresa sings about the issues which she and her lover are facing in their relationship. She is wildly attracted to him but negatively associates this attraction with the term “addictive”. She knows that it isn’t healthy to be how she is. She cannot live without him, but, when they’re together, it is just as awful. In presence or absence, he causes her intolerable pain. Theresa then poses a powerful rhetoric. Her use of “we” in this question shows that she is accepting blame, but this is almost immediately backtracked in the next line. Theresa does this by accusing him of going insane and destroying their relationship. Her acceptance of partial fault is overshadowed by her instant change of mind. The inflexion on rails is remarkable and perfectly transitions to the next verse. There are two bars of instrumental-which are just as epic as before. The second verse opens into a cascade of internal rhyme. Five true rhymes (and an extra half, if you include “eye”) let Theresa harness and further empower that heavy, thumping beat on the drums. It is one of the highlights of this song, purely because of it. Theresa again displays inconsistencies with her liability allocation by admitting half of it again. I don’t think she wants to blame him at all, because of this. She knows that she isn’t culpable for the majority of the issues but can’t accept that this man who she idolizes is. The only hold on her life she has left is tiny. It is all too much to deal with and so she’s losing her grasp on reality. She can’t hold herself up with just her fingertips. The annunciation is absolutely nailed as well, which makes it that much more enjoyable.

The chorus begins immediately. The drums drop, and the guitars and synth are all that remain behind Theresa. The guitar chords are incredible though! Theresa proffers a deep insight into the nature of their relationship and her mental state. Her use of “behave” shows she believes that her behaviour is in some way poor. She is extremely over-critical about herself. Her boyfriend is attacking her. He is in her face screaming, and she is distressed about how she is reacting under such extreme duress. Theresa then expresses that she wants it all to be over. Her only hope is to be free of him. She repeats it, vainly hoping that doing so will forge it into reality. Theresa finishes the verse with an ad-lib. It is another exceptional moment in the song: a harmonious mix of instruments and vocals, which absolutely rocks!

The third verse continues the depiction of the dysfunctionality of their relationship. They neglect other parts of their lives because of their constant disputes. Their feud even tends to violence on occasion. The most toxic part of it all, however, is that they return to each other. They call each other “baby” and other nicknames despite all that has happened between them. Theresa can no longer sustain herself. She is fatigued and finally decides to try to escape. The term “feral” has connotations of plight from captivity, which means her step is one away from him. She feels trapped by everything: her mind by her skull and her person by him. By being together, she feels like she bathes in a pool of his despise and hatred for her. Theresa further shows the “fight and forget” mindset, which has grown in their pairing. She’s frustrated that, after committing such horrifying injustices, they forget it so effortlessly and act as if nothing has happened. All Theresa wants is to be able to talk to him properly, heart to heart, without any psychological barriers. He finds this intrusive and deems that it is a pestilence. She uses “is all” to show that his aggressive reaction doesn’t sit well with her, which further charges him as the cause for the arguments. The last line harks back to “I’m clinging onto everything with my fingertips”. It is in an equivalent position in the structure of the song, and the pair are linked in meaning. She needs him to save her, but she is uncertain if he will. As in “Fired Up”, she would exuberantly throw herself in front of a bullet, but he might not.

Two hooks follow, separated by an instrumental. The instrumental sounds excellent, especially the guitars, which do a lot for the song and really excel here. The second of the choruses begins quietly. That sudden and ethereal quietness holds so much power. The occasional chords behind Theresa are brilliant, and I love the sudden recuperation of the instruments. They come back, accompanied by the heavy beat, and it makes for a grand outro. The most recent two outros have been a significant improvement over what YONAKA has produced previously. It is so incredible to see the band develop throughout its discography, especially at such a considerable, measurable pace!

If you like anything YONAKA makes at all, I reckon you will love this. It is their sound, and it shows. The band knows what to do at every single step. They didn’t make the mistakes of “Fired Up” or at all really: YONAKA finally did themselves justice with “Waves”.

Pacific-Life In Short

“Life in Short” was next. An absolute banger by every measure. It is Pacific’s most successful song to date, with nearly 200,000 listens (half of which were probably me). It was also Liam Highfield’s walk-in number last snooker season. It was the first of their singles I listened to, early on in my journey into the genre. It sounded so novel and fantastic. He best described it in an interview:

“Anthemic, energetic… PIANO.”
Scotts

This may have been said in self-reflection but applies here. I was immediately enthralled! Their use of the piano is just impeccable. I couldn’t attempt to fault it at all.

The melody bursts in with guitar, drums and keyboard. The introduction sounds excellent. The blend is fantastic, and the higher-pitched melody is amazing. The instruments drop to a simpler keyboard and guitar melody, but the drums holdfast. Anthony’s distorted vocals sound so good in the slower open verse too. He under-pronounces “Your”, stressing “eyes ignite” with a wonderful hold. The next two lines identify her artistic and romantic love. Both instil a tide of emotion, but in distinct ways. Anthony wishes for her to be supportive and love his art as a part of loving him. The holds on “love” also sound incredible and add to this effect. He hopes this will go somewhere after the end of his previous relationship. The drums pick up a bit, creating a nervous hopefulness in the beat. He draws out tonight, which shows how he hopes to stay with her longer than just the night. The final couplet is similar to the second and third lines. He is enchanted by this woman and wants to hear all she has to say. The last line is sung in a lower octave, showing his embarrassment as he yearns for her to reveal a love for him. The pre-chorus is introduced by cymbals, which sound epic. The drums and guitar become more noticeable and the piano starts to carry its weight. In the latter half of it, the keyboard sequence returns, sounding insanely amazing. The pre-chorus describes the formation of their bond. Anthony is shocked to be able to feel this again. Reality is slipping away, just leaving their two bodies alone. They both need each other to fill a gap in themselves. The surge in the higher octaves shows his excitement and ecstasy. The significance of the situation escapes his understanding. It is beyond him. He’s in such a state of disbelief that he needs assurance of its veracity. The last pair of lines shows how their relationship has developed through the use of “I” and “you” to “we”. The elation they achieve together has surpassed and overwhelmed all other sensations. The rest of their lives are cast into the deep umbra of their mutually assured delight. This leads into the chorus. The drums climax and change tone. Anthony sings about how he needs to settle down with the one. Her love can sate him eternally. Tired of gathering no moss, he needs a home, for he can’t leave the world without making an impact. A repeat follows this, connected by a clash of cymbals. This leads into the following verse, describing the utopia they will create together. It’s extremely short-merely three lines. He describes how they will sacrifice their enjoyment for the betterment of the world. By saying this, Anthony is hinting at the vastness of his trust in her. This faith is so deeply imbued in him that he would trust her with the keys to the earth more than he would trust himself. He knows that he couldn’t be selfless enough and that she could. This leads into the pre-chorus and then a tetracolon of hooks. The first is the same as the preceding ones, but with a peculiar inflexion on “running”. I’m not too sure if I like this pronunciation though. At least it doesn’t horrify me. Next, the band drops everything except Anthony’s singing and piano. The contrast sounds fantastic. The keyboard and drums return at “I can’t stand”, but they are still not at full majesty and power. The penultimate edition is very similar to the original, but with a heavy echo on Anthony’s voice made by backing vocals. It sounds pretty cool, but I think I would have preferred a longer second verse to the extra choruses. Especially because at least one is redundant. The ensuing version also has some clapping featured, which creates a striking effect. Nonetheless, the third incarnation is unnecessary. My only gripe with this song is that the truncated last verse should have been longer in place of it.

There are no other issues which I have with the song though, which is amazing! I think they did a really solid job of telling a mildly compelling story in such a limited space. The music doesn’t need a story though: the melody creates its own. It would overpower the meaning, no matter how commanding it was. That is Pacific’s vast accumulated talent. They’re incredible and the song is incredible so, go treat yourself with a listen.

YONAKA-F.W.T.B

“Fucking With The Boss” is one of YONAKA’s more popularized songs, largely due to a Grandson remix and a feature in “Hobbs and Shaw”. It tells the story of a role-reversing badass. It’s exciting and outrageous, the sound is novel and interesting, and the lyrics are pretty alright too. It’s a great song to sing out loud.

“F.W.T.B” begins with a distant guitar chord progression which is the best part of the song! It sounds remarkable the whole way through! The chords are genuinely so perfectly amazing. Theresa opens with a lot of distortion and echo on her voice, backed by heavy bass synth. I feel that they might have overused synth in this track, detracting from the rock. It does sound good, but it diverts attention from Theresa, who we all know is a verified badass. It reminds me of a remix from the word “go”. As much as I like the sound, it disguises those fantastic chords too, which is a real tragedy in my opinion. The band did such an incredible job on them! The drums surge momentarily before dropping back to reveal the synth and booming bass. Theresa opens immediately asserting her dominance, which she upholds for the duration of the song. It’s her time to talk, not yours. And she does so with eyes red with tears, struggling to breathe through them. Despite this, she still maintains some part of her appearance in her “lips that won’t quit it”. This song heavily features line with sexist, surface meanings, but with a deeper meaning doing just the opposite. Theresa wants this message to be clear and proud and she does a good job of making it subtle enough to not be offensively obvious and delivering it originally. The line also shows how she won’t stop talking until everything that needs to be said has been. She finishes the line with one of the best examples of ad-lib they have ever produced. It’s great in every way. It shows her frustration and sounds so amazingly fantastic. She is fed up of these stereotypes, of the toxic masculinity she describes in the second verse, of the sexism and all these unfairnesses. She’s her own person and she can only be stopped by herself because she has the same right to speech as anyone else. This leads to a fabulous pre-chorus. The guitars kick in, introduced by some deep bass chords. They are maintained higher up the octaves with the same godly chord progression. It’s a genius use of them and lets them create more energy in the chorus sequence. The pre-chorus is the most singable part of the song. It rolls of the tongue and Theresa sounds so hardcore. The over-pronunciation of the cacophonic tones adds so much harshness and power to her tone. She opens describing how she can and will fight back. The repetition of “know” shows how she sees her attackers as illogical, by emphasizing that they know their error. They know that they are walking into their inevitable destruction. Nevertheless, they still stride in. She isn’t going to let them enjoy antagonizing her. She will annihilate them with no regrets. She’s abandoned any restraint, thought for a second, preparing her metaphorical “ammo” and fires. The aural bangs supporting the “bang, bang” line sound great if a bit cliché. I don’t think they could have let the opportunity to use the noises go by though! This verse focuses on car imagery, something typically dominated by men. Car shows tend to have male hosts and cars often feature in rap-a genre again dominated by men. She’s breaking stereotypes and blazing her path. This leads into a chorus, which is repeated. The guitars complement Theresa’s tone so well here and I love it. It begins with a triple verbatim repetition of the namesake. The line following this is another silencing imperative, but it has the added effect of being very diminutive. She is treating them like children for their infantile behaviour. She crosses her legs as a flaunting of power rather than a conformation. After the repeat, the second verse begins. There is a synth noise which sounds exceptional at the start of it too. The second verse addresses the toxicity of the aggressors. The ringleader is a coward in private but feels so compelled to uphold the outward vesture which he bears so proudly. As a result, he attracts the fight to build it up. Theresa is also saying that he feels intimidated by her-and rightly so, considering her current mood! She compares him to a predator, belittling him with dehumanization. However, instead of pouncing on the smell of fear, it overwhelms him and forces him into hiding, because it is his own. The third line is a brutal joke. Theresa is saying that he should go get his friends to protect him, but you get the sense that she wants to humiliate him in front of them to pour salt into the gaping wound. She’s already at speed and he can’t avoid her wrath. There is another awesome synth sound after “fear”. It sounds so good once again and is a notable addition. This leads into another pre-chorus and then repeated chorus. This leads into a bridge and, as per usual, it doesn’t disappoint. Everything drops, leaving just the distant rumbling of thunder, brewing in the background. It lets you feel Theresa’s build to her explosion. This is the moment where she plans it out. Her collected, precise assaults need a second of thought, so she takes it. The vocals are echoey ad-libs. The first two lines have only this thunder, but the third introduces some guitars. They are playing the chord progression from the intro. It sounds magical. The last line introduces some fast-paced drums, building into Theresa’s attack. She explodes at the end of it and slays. The outro is the double repetition of the chorus again. There’s one “fucking with the boss now” which is exceptional. It is very massively distorted and immediately reinvigorates the line. Theresa’s voice is heavily quantized to create this super digital effect. She is accompanied by warped synthetic noises. It is a very cool use of the opportunity and it sounds monstrous. At the end, it’s done. No outro it needed. She has already polished him off. There’s nothing left to say or do. This is one of those rare times I can commend the choice to omit it. Anything else would detract from the song.

The song is brilliant, but I feel like it was a fluke. It’s not YONAKA’s sound, in much the same way “Bubblegum” wasn’t. This time, they were lucky enough to come away with an absolute banger. That’s what it is, most certainly, but it’s hard to ignore how out of place it is in their discography. They are overwhelmingly magnificent at rock and I hope they stick to it! The game wouldn’t be the same without them. Yes, the song is reminiscent of a remix, but aren’t remixes meant to be better?

Pacific-Blinded

You may have noticed that in the introduction I said I was sold on “Life in Short” and cruelly ignored “Blinded”. That may have been unfair. I do like “Blinded” and I think, for a debut single on Spotify, it is excellent, but it didn’t connect to me like “Life in Short”. Anthony sounds better, the drums sound better, the keyboards sound better, the guitars sound better and, beyond that, there is something magical about it. “Blinded” is a wonderful song but I don’t listen to it the same way as “Life in Short”. The Orzels, Bithell and Burns are capable of more and that’s why I can’t commend them for it. Their expertise has jaded my palette!

Blinded starts with a mellow mix of synth, piano and guitar for a few bars. Then the drums explode in, introducing a lot more volume in the guitars and some fantastic riffs which constitute the main melody. The keyboard sounds so energetic here too. Anthony knows how to use it well! When he starts to sing, the instruments fall back to the more tranquil start of the introduction, until they explode in for the chorus in much the same way as the introduction. The music video is critical for our understanding of this song. It depicts the band as famous circus acts, clearly showing how he feels like a fool, used by a lover. Anthony sings about how his lover is inconsiderate of his musical aspirations and how she won’t accept them. He feels a fool for ever having felt like he should have reconsidered his ideals to better suit her wishes. He opens with what seems almost like a quotation of his lover, more than his direct speech. “Stand and deliver”, “Your money or your life”, “Your dream or me”. He knows that being given an ultimatum of such a sort demonstrates how she can’t be the right one for him. He still asks her to reconsider, but he knows he will choose music if she doesn’t. The pre-chorus describes his mental process. A four on the floor kicks in, creating an effect of a nervously beating heart. He’s afraid of losing his dream or his love. He wants to keep both, but he knows it wouldn’t work: the demand would stain their love. He feels like a clown in costume-his disguise. He uses compelling rhetoric to pose the question “how can a clown answer this?” The manipulation means he can’t. He realises that she has controlled him and made him ignore it repeatedly. She should apologize for encroaching on his dreams. He won’t apologize for his dreams infringing on her. The chorus bursts in with a sudden cascade of cymbals. In it, you can hear how much emotion is squeezed into the lyrics. He screams the highs and blasts the lows. He sings about the realization of his foolishness and his ignorance with the power it gives him. Unfortunately, he loses the power quite quickly, however, every time he utters “Blinded” you can feel it return. The next line is sung much faster and it draws great contrast between his anger and his sorrows. This leads into the second verse, in which Anthony implores his lover to review her decision. He just wants her to encourage him and to be there for him. They could forget this entire experience and move on. He wants to know what she thinks she is doing. Her reasoning escapes him. He feels betrayed by her and is uncertain whether what’s left of their relationship is worth the emotional struggle and hardship. This leads into another pre-chorus, which has been shortened to a mere two lines. The first line is the same, but the second describes how his passion for music sates him. She is less important to him. His delivery brings so much energy into the song. He overpowers the cymbals and drum crescendo which was so powerful previously. You can visualize the strain on his face as he sings it. The chorus starts in the same way but finishes with a triple repetition of “Don’t wanna fantasize, just want to realise” and leads into a bridge. Anthony really screams the last repetition and it sounds so good, especially with the quietness that follows it and leads into the bridge. The instrumental between the chorus and the bridge features a slowed cymbal clash, which is the instrumental highlight of the song. It sounds incredible and I absolutely love it! The bridge is amazing and is probably the best portion of the song. Anthony sounds so good, especially during the hold on the last “on”. He sings about how his dream will live on without her, repeating “on” as if not only to exaggerate its importance but to also to convince her of it too. After the bridge, there is a mutation of the chorus, which is the previous chorus without the beginning two lines. The last “realise” has such a marvellous inflexion. It’s identical to in the second chorus, but it sounds so good and I cannot commend the band enough. It is flawless in every way and a perfect note to end the song on. The pitch up sounds so good as a climax to the instrumental and vocal build which precedes it. After it, there is a short outro, which cleanly rounds the song off. It’s a lot better than a fade to silence and a welcome addition to the song.

The song is great. I clearly have a lot of good to say about it, but I feel that they were holding something back. The band has shown me what they have to offer, and it is nothing short of excellence. Sadly, this wasn’t quite that. It’s so close to being it; so near that elusive boundary Pacific normally roars past, but not quite past it. And exceeding that boundary makes such a difference. It allows you to emotionally connect with a song and add your own story to it. Pacific is a band that makes great music that I have grown a powerful personal attachment to, and this track didn’t cultivate that love. A lot of the listening I do is on the tube, and whenever Spotify shuffle blesses me with Pacific I always mouth along. Most of the time, I even bounce along with it, terrifying the poor grandma in the seat next to me. “Blinded” isn’t quite there, but does merit a listen, so go give it a one!