The rise & fall of the progression, the movement through the notes, both string & wind, gives off a sense of waves lapping at the shore, or perhaps of a tired chest breathing slowly & deeply.
Singles
Driving under the label of ethnic country music, Lost Highways bring together elements of country, folk, and middle Eastern musicianship throughout their releases, often taking on classic songs & throwing their own energy & style into the process.
There’s a sense of artistry to everything about the song – to the musicality, the changing stages, the passion in the vocal, the lyrics. There’s also a level of theatre to the delivery & the second vocal fragments that echo certain ideas.
There’s depth and a little sadness, this song in particular brings together these elements in a captivating way. The more you hear, the more it connects.
The song offers a supremely mellow beat, well-built & easy to vibe to – creating the ideal kind of chilled out ambiance within which music fans can embrace the very sentiments of the song & enjoy the good times.
Smooth & strong vocals lead the way, drawing you over initially with a spacious, near-acoustic musicality – a gorgeous guitar part – and a series of lyrics that paint a picture of overcoming & moving forwards.
A good song to begin with but a stunning one by the time it nears its finish. The latter half really lets the artistry of the moment take the wheel, allowing that alternative freedom to shine brightly.
Sempre Caoz make music that screams out for you with its gritty, passionate, nostalgic & anthemic embrace. Still Alive is a huge song, one that incorporates the perfect balance between influences from the various sub-genres of rock.
The shared effect of these releases is that you get to witness both the high energy, polished presentation of a single, and the stripped back, raw acoustic set-up of an intimate live performance. In both cases, The Blue Artic easily meets the requirements of the moment.
David SweetLow brings together a gentle folk sound & a well-traveled perspective on this single Lean On Me. There’s an immediately delicate warmth to the track, the acoustic guitar picking & SweetLow’s near-whispered, smooth & heartfelt vocals walk hand-in-hand.
How Do You Know Until You Know is a superb line, the melodic switch & the change to a major key – the sudden brightness, the freely meandering piano – everything about this moment shines beautifully.
There’s a hypnotic quality to this extended musical journey that overtakes any need for structure or change. There’s a sense of growth, sure – the layers intensify just slightly, but you start to question whether that’s actually happening or whether it’s simply your mind making it appear that way.