Tag: Primer

Primer Literally Rolls With the Punches of Life’s Emotional Ups and Downs in the Video For Experimental Synth Pop Single “Round and Round”

Primer, photo courtesy the artist

The title track to Primer’s forthcoming EP Round and Round (due out June 6, 2024 via Born Losers Records for streaming, digital download and cassette) is a subversion of synthpop conventions even those the artist established for herself on previous releases. The melodic progressions go off the expected sequence and warp well outside in a way that somehow feels both accidental and purposeful. As though Alyssa Midcalf is trying to break the cycle of which she sings in the song while trying to maintain a coherent sense of self. In the music video we see Midcalf rolling with literal punches from boxing gloves and looking dazed now and again and smiling at times and dancing in place with multiple images of herself, in the end having a laugh at the absurdity of it all because you have to have a sense of humor when it feels like you’re facing the familiar challenges of the demons of your own mind. The song is like a slow cycling carnival ride with a beautifully expansive tonal arc like a fusion of the sensibilities of a 1980s synth pop artist, Kala-period MIA and modern indie pop artists like Charli XCX except with Midcalf’s signature deeply atmospheric synth work to give the song its emotional heft. Watch the video for “Round and Round” on YouTube and follow Primer at the links provided.

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Primer on Bandcamp

Primer Eases the Poignant Pains of Great Personal Loss in the Illuminated Melodies of “Things Fall Apart”

Primer, photo courtesy the artist

“Things Fall Apart” starts off by placing the song in a mood of mysterious nostalgia with the rising and warping tone like something from a latter day soundtracking of a silent movie. When Alyssa Midcalf’s vocals come in it’s like something from the edge of daydreams as they seem to be lit up from within amidst the luminous fog of the layers of synth melody and the wash of melodic drones. It feels very orchestrated and given the title and some of the enigmatic lyrics it has the effect of bandaging oneself from a traumatic and overwhelming experience that leaves you on or over the edge of emotional collapse without much relief so your mind creates the kind of music that feels like gauze on the psyche as a comfortable shield that allows for the processing of the pain and to heal as best you can when depending on the specific experience maybe you feel like you never can. The song sounds like it’s about the loss of an important person in one’s life and the complicated and messy feelings that can come about from something so final. Maybe you put some distance from yourself and those feelings within yourself, maybe some dissociation as a method of coping through the act of creation and to make things that remind one of better times emotionally the way sound can tap into the nostalgia centers of your mind and redirect the crushing and poignantly painful feelings that won’t go away, the memories that can haunt you for a lifetime. Midcalf seems to have used her most recent album Incubator as a vehicle for restarting her life through creativity while honoring her experiences and maybe that can be a helpful thing to hear for anyone that has been through a rough patch. “Things Fall Apart” certain exemplifies the project. Listen that song on YouTube and follow Primer at the links below where you can explore the rest of Incubator on Bandcamp.

Primer on Instagram