Fervor – Daydream Society
Amazing
Great
Good
Ok
Bad
Yuck
1. Mysteries From a Newly Repaired Heart Like this guitar (?) build up/feedback, eerie but enticing. And those hihats coming in now. The mixing is cool and immersive. More percussion layers adding in, and a soft synth. Like the pureness of that and the juxtaposition with the guitar. Very emotionally resonant this. And the tempo building now, love the way the synths and percussion dance around your eardrums. And a big meaty synth hit crackles into life. Really warm tone. Soothing actually. The whole thing is, like riding a wave. And we slowly pull to a stop. Nice track.
2. Daring to Deceive You Meaty distortion, always a good start. That chirpy melody is great with the crackling synths. Like the staccatoness of it. And ooooh this layer is cool. You manage to create strong warm ambience and emotions out of inherently artificial sounds, which is great. Almost Ambient Shoegaze here, with those layers of synths coming into play. I love way the way they snake and hiss. One criticism is the ones mixed to the front are maybe a little too harsh, slightly hurt my ears. Enjoyable again though.
3. Fate or Fiction Pt. 1: Light Pillars Another cool little melody, different accompanying octaves come in. And now those plodding notes taking dominance. And suddenly that wash of arpeggio which is brilliant, really comforting sound. This whole piece could definitely play soundtrack to a film, I reckon. Great build-up of layers, that’s something you execute well. Like the ending note.
4. Fervor This feels pretty unsettling. Those warped strings blending with that lower chord hit. And some bass arpeggio too now. And I love that whirring sound, subtle and atmospheric, really great texture. And the chord hits have that lovely sparkle sound to them, sort of like wind chimes. Best textures so far right here. Some of the instruments dropping out, which is always a nice effect, gives some space to things. And that string sounding synth, which is cello-esque, really adds variety and drama here. Great addition. Good pick for title track, definitely my favourite so far.
5. Waiting Game Unexpected but cool acid synth, love the ripple and crackle, more strong textures. And that guitar/bass sound undercutting it is ****ing cool. Those pops and clicks are a nice touch too. Holy **** the textures. Brilliant. A dark track, it seems, raw and edgy. But wait, I hear something more angelic underneath, a brighter synth part in the mix. Wow this is amazing. The track has a nice sense of progression without a lot changing. And there’s that synth I heard before! Chilled way to close things, very sweet. Another top track, thoroughly enjoyed.
6. Fate or Fiction Pt. 2: Snow Drifts Sort of house sound to the arpeggio melody. Rad bit of distortion now, love the way you blend the smooth stuff with the edgy, manic sounding synths/guitar. Again, very shoegaze. Definitely visualising the idea of snowdrifts, it actually feels like a flurry of snow falling around me (apt because it’s snowing here). This is really masterful stuff, something both melancholic and hopeful to this, like braving the blizzard outside to reach a loved one. Lots of kineticism to this track. And it pulls back again to a soft resolution. Made it out of the storm.
7. Level-Headed Reminds me of Bjork, the techno/trip hop blend. Mangled high synth plays around nicely with the lower notes. This is quite a swirl of sound here, I certainly don’t feel level headed (that may be the point). Wow, this is pretty manic and claustrophobic sounding now. Actually reminds me of Coil now I think about it. Great dissonant tones. This whole track is a nice change up into darker and more intense territory. And it comes juttering to a halt.
8. Agony and Atrophy The synth part that rolls along is cool, but it clips a little bit, slightly irritating. And that’s a lovely bit of wonky synth work there. Segues into a quieter synth part. And now some mad dissonant chord stabs. Definitely feel the pain in this one. Again, makes me think of Coil. There’s a lot of heat and energy to the sound on this track. And now a fizzy wash creeps into the background behind that ominous off kilter synth part. It’s like being on a Ghost Train waiting for the exit. And I’m through the doors.
9. Fate or Fiction Pt. 3: The Archeologist Instantly a more vibrant, positive start. Flute like synth is neat. Like the weird chord progression, catches you off guard slightly. Sounds a bit like something by Japan. Understated percussion is good, pitched percussion adds a great dynamic to the sound without being overpowering. Pretty psychedelic now with that slicey, spacey curtain of sound. Quite transcendental. Also sounds like some of the ambient stuff off of Low, which is a big compliment (Weeping Wall?). And it slowly spins out of control, nice. Another diverse track which adds a lot to the album’s whole journey. Great reverb at the end.
10. The Best Dream of Your Life Dark but floaty synth to open up the final track. More 60s psychedelia tinge. A bit Canterbury Scene sounding. Again, it’s that mix of uplifting and ominous which really hits hard. Definitely captures the confusing, contradictory nature of love. A loud synth part now. It’s alien sounding, but comforting and nostalgic as well. And the warmer, lower synth taking its place, makes things feel more safe. That slightly jarring note in the progression is a nice touch. That makes way to the soft arpeggio synth that tickles your ears, like it a lot. And the hazy ending minute is really relaxing and a solid way to end the journey.
Overall, I thought this was a strong work, the best stuff I’ve heard from you so far. You brought together those elements of dark ambient, shoegaze, psychedelia, and house in a convincing manner. The whole album executes its concept very well. Definitely felt like a journey, which isn’t easy to pull off with purely instrumental stuff. As I said earlier, your use of textures is really a stand out point; I think you should go further with that as you continue moving forward. I also thought the way you captured contrasting moods and emotions within individual songs was totally brilliant, and was very much a sonic embodiment of the feelings we go through when in love. The slight flaw I have, as I mentioned, is some of the mixing. At times, some of the high parts cut through a little too much, and become uncomfortable to listen to. It’s a small thing, and the skills needed to sort it just come with mastering your mastering (ha). Maybe a tad more variety in the song progressions would be desirable at times, too; but I don’t want you to lose the subtlety and space you have already harnessed.
As you can tell, I very much enjoyed it. Keep it up.
8/10