Everything But The Girl – Queen City Sounds and Art

“Extraordinary Love” by evrshde Blends Lush, Downtempo New Age Pop with Sensuous and Soulful Sophisti-pop

evrshde “Fear of Falling” cover, image courtesy the artists

“Extraordinary Love” by evrshde features an electronic horn that runs through much of the song, melancholic in the middle distance. The beginning of the song has near whispered vocals for an effect like the mysterious sounds of Enigma on that 1990 debut album MCMXC a.D. But no Gregorian chants in this downtempo. The vocals quickly transition to a sound that is introspective but present in expressing features of a love that is brimming with yearning, passion and connection beyond mere attraction and consistent and enduring. The music’s layers of sensual tones and pulsing rhythms has a jazz-like quality akin to another downtempo band that first came to prominence in the 90s, Everything But The Girl. This song unites the latter’s soulful sophisti-pop with the aforementioned Enigma’s more New Age pop sound and establishes an undeniably alluring mystique. Listen to “Extraordinary Love” on Spotify and follow evrshde at the links below. The group’s 2023 album Fear of Falling dropped November 29, 2023 and is available to stream on Spotify as well.

evrshde on Facebook

evrshde on Instagram

Delorca and Turner of Wheels Bring Us on a Journey Through the World’s Pain on Our Way to Better Places on “Misery Tourist (Part One)”

Delorca and Turner of Wheels linked up their computers during this ongoing pandemic to collaborate remotely on an extended piece of music called “Misery Tourist.” The ebbs and flows of textures, melodies, moods and concepts take on a cinematic quality and convey a narrative about grief and empathy and the importance of creative work and experiences in times of crisis. The first part of “Misery Tourist” draws us in with sounds that take on the shapes of physical objects in our imagination, of streams running over rocks, wind in trees, clouds streaming overhead. When the vocals come in like a spirit its reminiscent of Everything But the Girl but commenting on a desolate world wracked by conflict, suffering, deprivation and neglect. One might say it’s about the pandemic but any honest person sensitive to the reality of the world knows how the pandemic highlighted already stressed and strained human social structures and relationships and the widespread destructive impact of human civilization as we’ve known it on the environment. The soaring vocals feel like they’ve taken on this pain and channeled it into a coherent expression that gives this gentle and fluid composition a cathartic aspect without downplaying our collective erosion of life nurturing existence unbolstered by a non-existent wise stewardship by most political entities on the planet. And yet it’s not a downer. It is merely melancholy and because of its natural and subtle forward momentum simulating life and the course of history outside of human impact there is a built in sense of hope for an unraveling of the deadlock somehow in ways we can’t predict. The title seems to imply that to address our maladies we must first look upon them honestly and dare not to be completely overwhelmed by the extent of the destruction but rather see it as an opportunity to act boldly and not get stuck in the stasis of the status quo that made it all possible and inevitable. Listen to “Misery Tourist (Part One)” on Bandcamp and connect with the artists at the links below.

Delorca website

Air Quotes Makes the Inevitable Choice of Leaving a Toxic Relationship Seem Easier With the Cool Jazz Pop Tones of “On and On and On”

AirQuotes_OnAndOnAndOn1_crop — Air Quotes, image courtesy the artists

The title of “On and On and On” by Air Quotes alone, like an Ezra Pound line, suggests a bit of weariness with unproductive repetition. That lyric in the song echoes slightly like a reaction in your mind to the same old stuff that you’ve been tolerating for far too long, caught in a loop of action, reaction, emotional stifling and adapting the way too many of us do in a toxic relationship, making it all a routine thinking we’re getting through a bad patch not initially thinking it’s all been a bad patch. The vibraphone, marimba and flute gives it a jazz lounge quality and along with the vocal tones the song is reminiscent of something Everything But the Girl might have put out. That sort of downtempo pop cool that you don’t hear much of these days but which is always an interesting vehicle for communicating challenging subject matter in a palatable way and one that makes doing what you should be doing an easier choice and option in your mind. Listen to “On and On and On” on Spotify and follow Air Quotes at the links provided.

open.spotify.com/artist/1Ded4jEyNWBLh95JNjpzWv
soundcloud.com/airquotesmusic
airquotes.bandcamp.com/releases
facebook.com/AirQuotesMusic