Overheard – Time on a Good Day
Some of the greatest music posters feature exactly the same image. There’s a gigantic crowd sitting in front of the stage, and most of the people there seem to have succumbed to some kind of mania. There are gigantic amplifiers on stage, and although you can’t turn on the sound on the poster itself, you can imagine a colossal noise, the kind that could be heard from miles away.
And then, with a blue sky in the background that doesn’t dare disturb the giant congregation, there’s one person looking as relaxed as can be. You can’t see movement in a poster either, of course. But you understand that the character in question isn’t moving much. They’re calm. They’re the lead singer or guitar player of the band playing on stage, and although they are trapped inside this chaos, they are the only ones who can afford to keep calm.
In a chaotic world of pop-rock music, where everything is loud, shiny, colourful, and desperately vying for your attention, Overheard’s music allows itself to sit perfectly still. “Time on a Good Day” is performed with what seems to be some kind of secret knowledge about time. There’s plenty of it, and Overheard is able to stretch it at will. The music recalls the folk songwriters of the late 60s, as well as the tender, emotional music of Elizabeth Fraser and This Mortal Coil. If you make the time, Overheard’s music will speak to you.
Spun Mellow – Smooth Daze
If you grew up listening to punk-rock, black metal, bone-shattering hardstyle, or even dubstep, you might be surprised by how many times people have asked you to turn down the music. You’ve probably blamed them for their lack of knowledge or for the fact that they are missing a certain finesse. But why wouldn’t they be bothered by sounds designed to sound riotous?
Old-school psychedelic rock fits into that narrative back when it was played by hippies high on LSD and, like Carlos Santana at Woodstock, looking to create a sound big enough to awake the ancient gods.
However, clever, modern musicians have had the tact to take down the extreme elements just a tad and create a version of psych-rock that is warm, palatable and can be played for most audiences without them asking it to be turned off or with the threat of asking police to intervene.
Spun Mellow’s “Smooth Daze” does just what the title of the band and of the song would have you believe. It provides a warm, colourful, meditative background for your mid-afternoon, at-work dreams. It’s a bit like watching a YouTube video of Nepal on your phone. That may not sound revolutionary, but even those planning to establish a new world order need a good beat and a chill production to sit with them while they have their third cup of coffee of the day.
