Glimmer and Fold – Flying Objects
People aren’t merely slaves to a routine because society has placed them in this position. Nah, the vast majority of us just look for things that we can do the same every day, and for journeys that are always the same.
Perhaps it is the fact that repeating the same action makes us feel like we’re someday going to learn to perform these actions to perfection. Or, most likely, it has something to do with the fact that we just can’t live with risks and surprises.
That’s one of the reasons why otherworldly-sounding music will always have a market. There will always be people who need a soundtrack for a kind of existence that is alien to them. Glimmer and Fold’s mix of pop and psychedelia provides a look into another world.
Less is more in this context, and the German group’s brand of mellow pop relies on leaving large, mysterious gaps in the sound. “Flying Objects” feels like the soundtrack to the strangest day that you could ever have; it sounds like a break from the routine, it makes you feel like strange and unusual things could occur around these parts, as well as anywhere else.
Kevin Sloan – Shine On
There are some people who can make a motivational coach dressed up as a circus clown break down in tears just by telling them how their regular day went. There are folks who’d happily live in the Nordic winter, and who break down in tears if you force them out to see the Sun. These people are rare, amazing in their pessimism, and we have so much to learn from them.
But what happens when someone dares them to speak words of hope? What happens when they are forced by some circumstance to talk about all of the things that they are thankful for and all of the reasons why they think that this whole business of life will work out in the end? What happens is best summed up in Kevin Sloan’s songs.
“Shine On” sounds like a George Harrison song made if the Beatles ever got kicked off his estate and rejected by the Krishna Consciousness. It’s a beautifully playful song. It’s a lovely and silly pop ditty. And, it’s made all the more charming by Sloan’s attempts at telling you why everything is fine, and somehow making the problem worse. It’s a funny old world, and “Shine On” is a funny, new song in it.
