Wednesday, January 9, 2019

“I Close My Eyes” by Panic Is Perfect – A Song Feature

      “I Close My Eyes” cycles through being elegantly gentle, powerfully pulsating, and skillfully textured – and handles the three with equal adeptness. At the start of the song from Panic Is Perfect, the percussion takes a minimalist approach while the near-delicate guitar and calming vocals establish a feel of isolation. After the lyrics tell the story of almost reaching the goal, the pulsing gives the sense that something perhaps otherworldly is “pushing down,” making success difficult. Still later, the best example of a skilled transition to a heightened texture occurs at 2:44.

     In explaining “I Close My Eyes,” Mike Hoffman of Panic is Perfect said, “The song is about working though feelings of isolation and uncertainty, and how the path forward sometimes appears to us effortlessly out of nowhere.” The single was released via Strange Loop Records.

     Panic Is Perfect is based in San Francisco. The band has taken a variety of paths since its inception. The project began as a Folktronica duo before expanding to a five-member dance-ready, percussion-driven touring group. Their Facebook page now identifies three members - Mike Hoffman, Ty Parker, and Bob Byers. We support the current thinking of Panic Is Perfect, particularly Hoffman’s attitude toward percussion:
     “I’ve always been a lot more interested in listening to someone bang out a beat on a drum set than hearing what they can program on a drum machine or computer. To me, music is more than just what comes out of a speaker. Movement, energy and the imperfections of people playing instruments together can communicate something profound. So, in Panic is Perfect’s latest iteration I am filming everything that I record, and putting together videos that show the songs as they’re created. Long-term band mate/drummer Ty Parker and I are collaborating on releasing new music and videos every month. There is a certain magic in seeing how all the parts of a song fit together, and we are super excited to share that with everybody.”


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