Single Reviews: 12 October 2024: Wicked Cities From A Distance, Skinner, Iiris Viljanen, Soft Crystals, Charlie Hooper-Williams
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| Photo by Olegs Jonins |
Wicked Cities From A Distance - Lodern
experimental electronic
Through fifteen-plus minutes of saturated ambient textures, Wicked Cities From A Distance disseminates a comprehensive and dynamically intense soundscape on "Lodern", a sprawling single replete with sustained distortions and drones of celestial frequencies. WCFAD is the work of USA-based musician Dave Wirth, and this impressive single is released by the Austin, Texas-label Fire, Fire, Red Star Down! It creates a warm environment for the listener, but not an unchallenging one, lightly pressing at the seams of its semiliquid constitution with colourful flourishes.
Skinner - Geek Love
alternative rock
Dublin's Skinner wreaks goodtime havoc with unbridled expressions on the recent single "Geek Love". Scratchy electric guitar plays alongside funky bass, riotous saxophone, and samba reggae drum patterns, while Skinner extolls the virtues of keeping things strange with the instructive refrain "You've got to freak the scene!" It's not the most personal of tracks, clouded by its own cool, but certainly a good one for gigs, parties, bars; social places where a sense of abandon in encouraged. Skinner, the stage name of Aaron Corcoran, acts as an instigator, challenging his audience to buy into his odd assemblage of sounds and thus, a more liberal and progressive way of seeing things.
Iiris Viljanen - Gianni
neoclassical
Swedish pianist Iiris Viljanen delivers heartwarming and playfully melodic solo piano majesty on her latest single "Gianni". Preparing to release the album Kiss me. stupid.. in 2025, Viljanen offers a taste of what's to come. If "Gianni" is any indication, it promises to be light, sophisticated, and the kind of simple wonder conjured from a bare-bones magic trick. Of the track, Iiris says: "[Gianni] reflects the moment when all worries are left behind, embracing the unknown with a sense of peace" Indeed, there is a peaceful element to this song, but it's also impactful, owing to and not despite its minimalism. "Gianni" also features on the upcoming compilation A song is a dream (and dreams are real!), which comes out November 8th on the Sing a song fighter label.
Soft Crystals - Lost Pagans
indie rock
There's a cleanliness to "Lost Pagans", a recent single from the Scottish band Soft Crystals. This cleanliness comes from an economic mix and arrangement, but also from the precision with which the Berlin-based four-piece executes its innocent and nuanced jubilence. Composed of Scottish expatriates Matthew Morris, Stephen Morris, Thomas Hyman and Douglas Mackay, Soft Crystals has a nostalgic sound reminiscent of 90s radio, but there's an obscurity to their songs that make it cooler than commercial. "Lost Pagans" also has a driving quality to it, producing an easygoing and drifting piece with sparklingly dry guitars and decoratively cute vocal harmonies.
Charlie Hooper-Williams - How to Actually Change Your Mind (Solo Piano Version)
neoclassical
Bath-based composer Charlie Hooper-Williams seems to conjure the spirit of a waterfall on his recent single, a solo piano version of How to Actually Change Your Mind. Originally released in 2019 on the album The Sea Was Never Blue, this new version is much slower and pensive, though it's not without movement. There are parallels to Glass's Glassworks in the composition, but Hooper-Williams focus on the emotional side of modern classical solo piano, as opposed to those who design to satisfy the intellect first. That's not to say there's no chin-stroking going on, but it's done subtly and without compromising its accessible intentions.