The OutbackBoard

My dad would like drumming along to this one, he has a lot of fun with those boots and kats beats. There are so many guitars in this song. There’s a lead, rhythm, but also little guitar effects in the background. There’s at least four during the solo section playing at once! It’s a nice touch to have their individual audios panned to the left and right mic. They’re already trading offbeats, so you can almost hear it like they’re passing a ball back and forth. That break in the middle was awesome! Moving into double time really accentuates the feeling of pent up urges boiling uncontrollably to the surface. The key change just blew my mind. I genuinely wasn’t expecting that but it completely refreshed the chord progression. I would love to hear a live band play this song, not only to see how many guitars are on stage, but also to see people dancing to it. It’s an anthem for a Labor Day festival dance floor.

This is another song from Liana’s new album, And So It Goes. Although it’s supposed to be about her lingering feelings and newfound loneliness following a breakup, the very literal lyrics of “I’m living on my own now / and I’m here to stay” have been resonating with me. I’m starting college in 3 days and I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that I’ll truly be living on my own. This will likely be the first song I listen to as I unpack, immediately after saying goodbye to family. Here to stay sonically captures the emotions of that moment- the realization that life has been irrevocably changed. Yet despite its desolate premise, I still find hope when I listen to it. All of the harmonies layering together are almost oxymoronic to Liana’s point: she’s alone, and yet she doesn’t realize that all of these voices are coming together to make music alongside her. Could they not represent the potential of finding new people in her life to replace the connection she lost? Does that not mean I can make new friends too, in my own isolation?
I often play YouTube videos to help fall asleep. Usually my tossing and turning throughout the night throw my headphones onto a nearby pillow, and when I wake up I have no recollection of what I was listening to. Except for the other night. I stirred awake, perhaps awakening from a dream, and at that exact moment the final part of the song (2:17ish) was playing. It was an otherworldly experience to lay there, wrapped in warm blankets and Liana’s layered singing. Best damn sleep of my life. So yeah, this song is good. Listen to it.

The stereo effect in the droning is really cool, it feels like a swirling void of sound. Once the other instruments come in (particularly the drums), it really does mimic the spinning of cogs and gears from within an engine! There’s an interesting contrast between the gritty sound of the verses and the suddenly flowing, warping tone of the chorus. Is it meant to symbolize the peace and tranquility felt by the singer when they get validation from their partner? I love that they compare their love to “the silence of the turning earth,” something natural and seemingly eternal. Despite the dark machinery sound, that was really a wholesome song! So sweet!

I’m really loving the guitar in this song, I’m a sucker for hard rock. The chord structure is pretty repetitive, but they find good ways to add variety. The pauses and moments where the guitars cut out creates a nice emptiness that brings a lot of impact and hype when it gets filled, and the bridge went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. This is definitely an edgy piece, but I could enjoy it in the same way I enjoy screaming: use in moderation only when it makes sense to. It’s going in my liked songs for when I’m annoyed or upset at somebody. Also, I thought the little bit of feedback ringing out at the end of the song was my newfound tinnitus.

First thought- the little electronic drum beat at the beginning has the same soundfont as a DS game. This has been really chill for the first minute and thirty seconds, I’m wondering if there’s going to be a big drop or it’ll just stay like this the whole time? It’s like the song is edging me. It’s building very slowly, with the incremental addition of the harmony line and other little parts and pieces in the background. THERE IT IS, BEAT DROP. That took ⅔ of the song, but when it finally came it felt so satisfying. This is another piece I would love to hear live, that reveal would make a dance floor go crazy. Wow the fade-off starts early, like almost a full minute before the song ends. Maybe it’s because I’m listening to the remaster? The guy sliding the fader down took their sweet time.

OKK the beat drop had me busting a move. There’s one thing that you can always count on in a Nintendo game- and that’s some bomb-ass piano parts to their music. First Breath of the Wild, and now this? Do you hear that pianist going crazy in the background? Every time someone makes a song consisting of an elegant piano part overtop an incredibly fast drumbeat, an angel gets its wings. Is this for a final boss battle? There’s something very daunting about it, like it’s the end of a long journey. Video game soundtracks in particular have this special way of creating a permeating tone and placing emotions onto the listener. It’s music tailored to a specific moment or event, so I suppose that makes it easy to weave feelings into it. I never knew Kirby had such a bomb soundtrack- despite being a diehard Nintendo kid growing up, I never got around to playing a Kirby game! (I played a lot of Splatoon, however.) Now I might need to do so just to listen to the music!

From this point onward, I’m writing these in a hotel room. This reminds me of a Lord Huron song, country vibe with whimsical background harmonies. I lowkey relate to the line “I’ll be fine by the end of this song,” sometimes you just need a good cry session where you wallow in your feelings and then move on. Lord knows I’ve had many of those. I have a friend who’s a diehard Lord Huron fan, I’m gonna show this to him and see if he likes it!

I like the moments of ¾ time signature in here, it adds a lot of spice! I’m a firm believer we need more time signature variety in music, it would make things so much more interesting. Another song with great guitars too. Great vibe, gonna add it to my liked songs so I can explore more music from Flyleaf!

I feel like I’m driving home through a city of neon lights. That’s all I have to say for this song. Vibe.

Gonna be honest, I prefer Nat King Cole’s rendition of I Wish You Love over this one. But I respect that Laufey modernized it and brought it to new audiences that wouldn’t have normally heard it. I’ve seen a few funny instances online where Laufey fans get confused that a bunch of people from years ago have already made this song, not understanding what a jazz standard. Still a nice song, wouldn’t skip it if I had a Laufey playlist going.

Never listened to Aerosmith before, but I’ve heard some great things about them from my friend. He’s a guitarist, so that might explain his tastes a bit. The train noises with the guitar are such a nice touch! I can totally imagine my friend sitting in his room, trying to replicate that. I think I’m listening to a live version? I’m hearing cheering in the background, but the album doesn’t say anything about being live. If they added that intentionally, it’s a nice touch. That would bring a sort of publicity to it that would mimic a public train ride. Pretty cool song, great guitar playing, using this as an excuse to text my friend!