Slower Avenue – Somehow, Sometime
For confident artists, time doesn’t exist in the way that it does for everyone else. If their work is worth anything, they are not forced to do it quicker by the clock on the wall. If their words are valuable, when they speak, they can afford to do it slowly and think about what they mean to say. And, when they create works, they don’t need to worry about how quickly audiences will be able to make out the story or message.
Rock music is devolving when it comes to time. The very first rock singles were two minutes long, and the people making them were worried about wasting the audience’s time. By the 1980s bands were confident enough to make long songs, or songs that first looked to draw a scene, create an atmosphere, whisper some secrets. Modern TikTok songs need not be longer than half a minute, really.
Slower Avenue, the Spanish group inspired by post-punk and ethereal gothic music, is confident enough in its strengths to let the tension simmr on their newest single “Somehow, Sometime.” This is not monologue when the speaker is trying to get to the point as quickly as possible. This is the inauguration of dreamscapes. Everything needs to happen in their own time and the song is better off because of this.
Failing Exploration – In Aternum
There have never been more people ask to vote for political candidates than there will be in 2024. Disappointment ith politics aside, the message of those seeking electoral approval is clear, even it can’t be clear. For example, right-wing politicians will wink and joke about extremist policies making sure that those who need to hear the message do.
Meanwhile, the mor traditionally-minded politicians will rely on slogans. Preferably it will be something short enough that it can it onto a poster, a t-shirt, or a red hat. Slogans are the way those that feel they are in power these days. The politicians are using the exact same principles as a toothpaste company. But those who are really in power don’t need to address their supporters in 5 seconds or less.
Failing Exploration are a band from the beautiful and mysterious Guatemala whose post-punk exploration should push them toward the top of the genre. On “In Aternum,” the duo is not too miffed with the attention-span of the general public. The band just assumes that those interested in the kind of work that they do will take the time, savour the atmosphere they create, and make themselves part of the mystery that is being revealed here.
