Sunday, May 24, 2015

Lyrical Repetition - Three Songs

     Indie Obsessive is not a fan of lyrical repetition. However, there are times when repetition of a statement is used effectively and other times when other features of a song divert our attention from the repetition.
     Calan Mai is releasing a debut EP on July 10, 2015. “Black Box” will reside on that EP, entitled “Days on the Rock Face.” Calan Mai is the performance moniker of Jordon Lawrence, who moved from Gold Coast, Australia for a new start in Manchester, UK.
     It’s fair to compare “Black Box” to a construction project. Elements are regularly added, until the project is complete. At the start, the foundation is built. An acoustic guitar and an electric twang are soon joined by the vocals. At about 1:00, shoegaze guitar takes a major role in defining the shape. Just after the three minute mark, the addition of elements turns to the vocals:
   1. Harmonization enters at 3:11;
   2. At 3:47, the backing vocals depart from following the lyrics of the lead; and
   3. At 4:26, vocal layering is used very effectively.

     “Black Box” by Calan Mai


     “Pale” by Little Death Machine is a song that would be easy for us to miss, because all too often we abandon listening to a song that doesn’t grab us in the first minute. Thankfully, we stayed with “Pale.” The guitar that enters at 1:18 is interesting. But it’s not until after the 2:40 mark that the song insists that it is blogworthy.
     The members of Little Death Machine are Daniel Cross, Jamie Kendall and Jamie Goff. The band is based in London.

     "Pale" by Little Death Machine


     The third entry is also based in the UK. VYNCE is a quartet in Merseyside. The members are Peter Pegasiou, Tom Davis, Ollie Foster and Alex Whittaker. The song “Not My Girlfriend” has a guitar with an approach similar to that of The 1975.

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