APACALDA – Dead Weight
Ironically, it’s all of the pop stars who fought hardest to say things that, for the age, weren’t shocking and which most people could agree with that are the most easily forgotten. They’ll hardly ever have their songs used in films about the time. They’ll fans will, eventually, desert them for something with a bit more spice. And, the best that they’ll be able to do is play the oldies circuit.
If it’s polite opinions that you’re after, you can just chat with grandmas walking their grandchildren in the park or attend a modern hippie-folk fest. But what these characters will tell you will be easily forgotten. If, on the other hand, you want some honesty, you’ll need artists with real guts on your side. The bravest of them all, tend to be the ones that can reveal the truth about themselves, first, and about the world at large, secondly.
APACALDA isn’t trying to break your heart with the single “Dead Weight,” but if that’s what should happen, so be it. This is not a song disguising the truth to be better than it is or one in which the singer bemoans their bad luck. Nah, this is telling the story as it is. Over a tender instrumental backing, the singer muses about what life is really like once someone’s reached a point of no return, what feeling like you’re about to fall off the edge of the world must feel like.
RAINSONG – tomorrow
There are many ways in which you can actually, listen to music. And, let’s not ourselves forget that now that most of us just have it pumping in our expensive lo-fi headphones to and from work while accessing the entirety of the global collection of records on Spotify or iTunes. In fact, choosing how you’re going to be listening to music is one of the most important choices in how you’ll end up enjoying it.
Bands and artists would prefer that you hear their songs while they’re playing in front of you, forcing your attention to them on a stage. Cafes and bars would prefer that you hear the music from afar and mostly ignore it while you’re having your drinks or food. And there are even those musical groups who’d like to create the sort of sound that just becomes part of the atmosphere around you.
RAINSONG’s “tomorrow” is neither a song that you can entirely ignore nor is it one that requires you to interact with it every step of the way. This is music designed to exist like a really thick fog, enough that you can see it around you and very nearly within reach. RAINSONG operates within that orchestral feedback noise pop that some call shoegaze. The band does its job well as they create music that brings your dreams one step closer to your waking hours.
