War Violet’s use of strings and piano arrangements in “Different Formations” lend a classical sensibility to a song about the ways humans live on earth like we’re eager to escape it. Like it’s something to escape and that as a result its in some ways disposable. But Jummy Aremu’s vocals seem to mourn this unfortunate state of affairs as a tragic reality that never needed to come to pass. In the music video we see Aremu sharing a cab with a cast of characters at night like they’re celebrating like it’s their last day on earth. It really makes the song hit a little harder in spite the elegance of its composition and the orchestral beauty of its detailed melodies. With poetic pronouncements, Aremu points out the lost potential and the inevitable tragedy of loss of a world that seems inevitable simply because humans couldn’t believe in their own value and thus the world around them because of a lifetime of indoctrination to belief systems that atomizes everyone and renders all things with a utilitarian value rather than one more inherent and tied to a place in a an economic, social and/or religious hierarchy. In Aremu’s voice we hear a love of the world and a spirit deep melancholia at how it feels like our species has simply given up on itself and everything else in the world has to pay that price as well. A song can’t save the world but “Different Formations” offers a unique take on what we’ve lost and what we can lose and challenges the listener to think in lateral and powerful ways that can transform our approach to how we conduct ourselves on the planet. Fans of Kate Bush and Angel Olsen will appreciate Aremu’s union of classic and classical sensibilities with an employment of those sounds and structures in ways that subvert the usual methods and expressions. Watch the video for “Different Formations” on YouTube out now on Kill Rock Stars and listen to more War Violet on Spotify.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
You must be logged in to post a comment.