Band Spectra’s “Freckles” somehow seems more resonant in Fall when the daylight hours diminish. A hazy sweep of a sound resonates with the paces in the song as a melancholic synth melody and simple beat create a mood of bittersweet resignation. The vocals courtesy Mary Leay are a near whisper like someone writing a letter to someone with whom they have a loving but complicated relationship or speaking softly to them late at night. Multiple interpretations could be drawn from the song but lines about needing to be brave in a moment but failing to do so because “I’d rather feel the safety of my doubts” and being demotivated by life’s downbeats and the ensuing unease that takes the wind out of one’s sails. The bit about “best days running toward the past” feels like something someone had to have written later in life and not the product of youthful bravado. But at the heart of the world-weary song is a faith in something in a bond with someone even if things seem challenging, perhaps to even give up one’s tendency to surrender to feelings of uncertainty. The song has a sad tone but in its entrancing atmospheres and its gentleness there is more than a trace of finding something good even when things feel desolate. Fans of Electric Youth and Chromatics will appreciate the songcraft and the deep sense of tapping into tender feelings here. Watch the colorfully minimalist video for “Freckles” on YouTube and follow Band Spectra at the links provided. The group’s self-titled album released on September 28, 2023.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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