Ethan Wood’s long-awaited album Arcade offers quite wonderfully the precise sort of sound you might expect from that title, though with an all-important element of thoughtful composition and musicianship that runs deep. The playlist emerges like a colourful journey through the past – these classic gaming sounds and samples make up the bulk of the audio, but as the layers gather momentum, they become unified – they work together, undeniably, creating around you a blissfully uplifting and hopeful ambiance that quickly becomes a joy to experience.
From Intro through Supersonic and on to the gorgeously energizing bounce and melody of Blowing the Cartridge, the nostalgia is comforting – particularly during the final of these three. It’s a moment many of us will recall – blowing into the game cartridge, obviously to give it a magical, fresh boost of life. The music beautifully (and in quite a sophisticated way) reminds you of those days and those feelings associated with playing.
As the project progresses, Ethan Wood’s ideas and emotions come through more and more. The immediately familiar and warmly melodic Walk Away is a memorable hit and emerges soaked in that unique sound that is the artist’s own approach. He fuses elements of retro EDM and punk-pop here, giving audiences that alternative indie anthem for the summer.
After the initial energy of the first section of the project, Hello takes things in a more mellow and briefly organic direction – showcasing a new side to the artist and helping the project lean confidently (yet not overbearingly) in the way of eclecticism. A distant piano and and a muffled beat guide the way, building a gentle ambiance of vintage good times before you. It feels hopeful and keeps that lo-fi feel alive. It’s a beautiful piece of music, gorgeously well structured and thoughtful at every step.
The Half-Life Of Planets is a personal favourite from this collection and an absolute recommend. What Ethan has created with the thickness of the beat and the relentless energy of that simple but striking synth-chord progression is mesmerizing. There’s a subtle sense of rising intensity as the track grows and evolves, things venture further and further into the depths of space, the notes fly higher and higher, and still that beat goes on – that constant, throbbing pulse throughout the track. At about the half way point things change and fall away, the beat reinvents itself, alters its frequency, just for a moment. This pause represents the story-line well, and the return to the rise makes for something of a roller-coaster experience – the fast-paced flying down the track followed by the slow crawl back up, and repeat. This piece is phenomenal when listened to at volume and fully embraced.
Game Over reintroduces the lyrical side of Wood’s songwriting and again presents that indie-pop-meets-retro-dance vibe – the initial Owl City inspiration stands tall. This song has a mainstream feel in the way the riffs and the hook-melody hit. Please Don’t Forget Me follows and calms things down considerably. A delicate, slightly Mr Scruff or jazz-cafe-like vibe emerges, snippets of distant conversation, a light and soothing drum-line – all well placed at this point in the project. It lets your mind wander freely and makes for yet another moment that’s easy to witness on repeat. Ethan Wood’s fusion of creativity and professionalism is at an all time high throughout this album.
Ambient delicacy is furthered with the blissfully entrancing tones and aura of Streets Of Tokyo. This evolves to be another highlight, though really – the project in full means so much more when experienced as a complete playlist. This one is subtle but beautiful. Midnight Silhouettes comes afterwards and reminds you of that retro gaming sentiment whilst adding a depth and weight that effectively seek to energize and uplift. Again, this is something of a masterpiece. What you really get with this album is an entire collection of considerately and skillfully crafted tracks to escape to.
Adding a final dash of eclecticism at the final hurdle, When She Loved Me changes the pace as the penultimate song, offering space and emotional vulnerability; a folk-like melody and a few simple chords and notes. The story-line is unexpectedly revealing and honest and this adds a level of human connection to the project that’s genuinely well-received at this point. Ethan Wood is an artist, through and through – to express musically seems so natural in everything he creates.
Colour Spectrum brings the album to a rather epic, eighties-like finish, with an infectious, retro drum-line and a series of multi-layered synths that craft something totally optimistic around you. Things feel possible, unstoppable even, and relevantly colourful. The meeting of the sax, the synths, and that classic sounding beat is gorgeously nostalgic and makes for a huge moment of blissful ambiance as the experience approaches its end. This track reminded me of M83’s Midnight City. The energy is superb and the feeling of joy and togetherness rounds up the project in a mighty way.
Arcade is a stand out album and an absolute must for the long-term collection of 2018. Download it via Bandcamp. Find & follow Ethan Wood on Twitter & Instagram.
