Remora Beach – Tired Heart
There were, likely, pictures of famous artists hanging on the walls of the school that you attended as a child. Nearly everyone has those! And, I would imagine that there were plenty of teachers willing to talk for hours about just how much these people had given to culture, and about the particular gifts that allowed them to contact something of an almost spiritual nature.
Sensitivity and the capacity to translate this into art are, rightfully, seen as one of the greatest gifts an individual can possess. In fact, if he does have this, many of his/her peers will feel envy. However, few of your tears, I bet, ever talked about the sadness and the powerlessness that come packaged with this gift. Remora Beach, however, does.
“Tired Heart” is, essentially, a beautifully tranquil pop ballad, a 1950s gem translated into modern indie rock terms. It contains a gorgeous melody that you can follow along with and confident vocals. But, it is also the document of an artist who’s found the world and seen as it is and who’s been destroyed by caring a little too much about it all. “Tired Heart” is a song about illusion and reality crashing into each other.
Nausicaa – The Darkest
Pop music’s done one particularly wonderful thing. It’s made nearly everyone in the world want to define themselves based on just what kind of brand of pop music that they like.
Sure, there are numerous kinds of fandoms. Some people tattoo the name of their favourite sports club on their arm and travel the world following them. And, some people queue for the latest edition of a comic book franchise of which they’ve collected every issue.
But those are niche concerns. Pop music isn’t. It’s so vast, in fact, that some people have dug deeper, have felt the need for something more sophisticated. Nausicaa is a band that wants to speak directly to fans of alternative music.
This is why “The Darkest” is an honest attempt at blending grunge, shoegaze and gothic sensibilities all in one track. It’s a song meant to be instantly recognised by fans of these genres and, as the lyrics suggest, by those looking for something more eerie and mysterious, for sounds that properly soundtrack the era in which we live.
