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Musical Tension & Storytelling
Alt pop flow state
Beauty in Tension
One of the most beautiful aspects of music is the idea of creating tension with different sounds (synth, bass, etc.) and effective mixing to then juxtapose it with narrative lyrics. The idea of seeking to elicit a certain emotion by utilizing harmony, dynamics, and lyrical content is yet again another quality that makes music so special - it feels like a gift, one that never stops giving. I will say that this is also not something that is owned as a musical idea by one genre. There are a myriad of genres that supply this sort of gift, I am simply highlighting one that has been a bit more impactful for me recently.
All music elicits a certain emotion, but it may not be the same emotion for everyone.
Some of the more impactful music to me is the music that forces my ear to listen, impacts me with emotions I didn’t anticipate, and makes the story so real that I find myself in a vacuum of time and have truly experienced something surreal. Oh, the beauty of music.
Entering flow state in 3, 2, 1…
There are a few artists recently that have captivated my ear in the specific ways I’m talking about above, and how they have made me lose track of time entirely. Funnily enough they all sort of fall into alt-pop, an inclusive, welcoming genre of many sounds and flavors. Thus, I would say we can enter this alt-pop flow state, yeah? We all float down here.
My recommendation is to try and find a space where you can listen without interruption. I think these artists are most impactful when you have this sort of environment where you can dive into the music, just as much as it would dive into you. I’ll note too that some of these tunes are heavy, and emotional, and can be a bit of a trigger for some. These at the end of the day are experiences and stories that these artists felt compelled - convicted - to share or express in a way that could be therapeutic for them, cathartic, or explorative. After all, music is a release of emotion, an expression of it.
My recs to reach that alt-pop flow state
Not all of these here are going to sound or feel the same. While there are elements in each of these that fall into alt-pop you will hear elements of quite a few other genres like slowcore, goth, folk, indie-rock, and even Americana. These three artists share similarities, but I encourage you to take a sip of each of their brews, you’ll find flavor notes that tickle your fancy.
Ethel Cain - Ethel is a musician (an artist) who understands what it means to be authentic, and conveys that authenticity in storytelling that envelops the listener. Their album Preacher’s Daughter is an album that gave me chills, put me to the edge of my seat, made me cry, and almost forced me to dance. I genuinely don’t know that I’ve felt as much emotional tension and turmoil while listening to a record as I did listening to this. Be prepared for this listen, it is hard, and it’s an over hour-long listen, but it is one that I listen to frequently.
album rating - 9.7/10, fave track - A House In Nebraska
Alice Phoebe Lou - Glow. This is a very vulnerable record on a lyrical level. The vocal inflections Alice embodies match the lyrical content on an emotional and sentimental level. Juxtaposed with the instrumental backing, you can feel a groove that sort of feels “grown-up” and confident which again, feels contrary to the vocals, but in a beautiful way. I would highly recommend checking her tunes out. Honorable mention not featured on Glow: Open My Door.
album rating - 9.2/10, fave track - Only When I
Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. This album is a fun listen, sonically. It has dancing vibes, you can feel the sass and confidence in Caroline’s vocals throughout each song. This has many elements of pop that most people know and love - but with a mix of unique melodies. This doesn’t always have the most moving lyrical content, but it finds its way by embracing pop to the highest degree, and by capturing Caroline’s personality. To be less verbose, this album just feels quintessentially pop.
album rating - 7.2/10, fave track - Pretty In Possible
I hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned! Share your thoughts by replying to this email here, or shoot me a message on Twitter. I want to hear from you!
Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.
Little note here, most of the links to albums will be on Spotify, where I also have playlists that feature my recs based on the month their newsletter came out. You can find those playlists here!
See you all next week! 🙌