The Scree Fall – No Dreams Left
Harsh truths are best confronted with a cold bottle of beer and a good beat behind the words used to deliver the bad news. And, while some styles of music tend to operate almost wholly in aggregating human anxiety, it’s been proven that they do more good than bad. Simply put, when using art, music especially, people find relief from their problems.
And, to be fair, melancholy, sadness and regret can be very potent emotions for crafty artists. Those can be the fuel to a colossal blaze, as seems to be the case for The Scree Fall. At the same time, all those disappointments, when not utilised properly, can be a reason to pack it all in, to give up, and to start angrily yelling your disappointments at the television.
Everybody needs a bit of hopelessness sometimes to remind them, eventually, that things aren’t so bad after all. The Scree Fall’s “No Dreams Left” is post-punk/gothic music that channels the feeling that better days are behind you now, and nothing will ever live up to expectations. The vocals and repetitive bass groove have a mesmeric effect. But guess what? As you wake from your sonic-induced dream, you may just see the world shining brighter again by virtue of contrast. It turns out that it’s good to let music, sometimes, pull you to the very bottom of everything.
Soft – Blame
A small jingle and an appeal to people’s deepest emotions. That’s, in a nutshell, the recipe for a pop song. First, you get a nice enough groove and a simple melody. You try not to change it too dramatically throughout the short 3-4 minute length of the song. Next, you add some vague lyrics. The words can either be about how hopeful you are or how sad you’ve become. But there can never be anything in between.
That’s how most songs work. It’s not just chart-topping pop numbers that use this formula. And while it’s easy to understand why so many artists would try to hijack a formula that has proven successful, it feels like so much more can be done and that audiences deserve to hear more than old formulas. Thankfully, alternative music produces artists like Soft, who are challenging the idea that those old strategies must always be in use.
Soft’s “Blame” feels more like a fever dream implanted into your brain than a typical pop song. There are textures added to the mix that make it worthy of repeated listening. The lead vocals, producing a sound that feels like a mix of hip-hop and hardcore, discuss issues related to trauma. And the arrangement keeps you on edge like a roller coaster that hasn’t yet reached the top. It’s messy, but it’s real and unpredictable! And that’s something we ought to demand from our music.
