'Do you remember the bad nights?' Saturday night before last was certainly none of those. And though 'The Bad Nights' has seen a rousing acoustic revival when Nate Linek performed it, among other riveting tracks of debut EP 'Shape Of The Sun' (2015) during his 40+ minutes live set on stageit, it surely have been his three new tunes the audience were most looking forward to.
Online-gig-goers worldwide had the chance to be part of Shape Of The Sun's - so the musician's alias - EP release for 'ARTiFiCiAL HEARTS' on september 15th and were offered to hear new and old songs alike. The groove-laden reverb of 'The Fire Waits For No One' was convincingly complemented by the melodious melancholia of 'Every Room Inside My Head'; and yet opening his set with the tonal triplet he has just recently brought into being, was probably a smart move for Linek to make, as he ipso facto gave the watching and listening crowd exactly what they craved: honest and gripping music to indulge in as well as a glance of what is yet to come, for the artist's sophomore EP does not only feature 3 tracks, but marks the artistic ground work for two more EPs to follow.
And so it rightfully seems as if 3 is a magical number for Shape Of The Sun and his authentic music-making; for carpe carmina it surely is a safe bet to trust the triumphant trio that forms the singer/songwriter's current creative outlet and outing, to win the listeners over effortlessly, while there's little at stake with a good hand (and Linek - no doubt - knows how to play it well).
Opener, 'Real Boy', alone, gets you in the mood for the opaque and impulsive instrumental gravity that sets the tone for 'ARTiFiCiAL HEARTS', as Nate Linek delivers a dramatically doom-ridden and dimly absorbing musical performance, on both melodic and lyrical level. Fuzzy, suspensefully sonorous sounds, dynamically intense and absorbing at once, embrace moody vocal vehemence in a willingly welcoming way and accentuate the song's frank, sharp storytelling. There is something undeniably urgent, passionately sorrowful about Linek's voice indeed, asking, begging even, the audience to pay attention, to believe his every word. And he might just get away with it, as 'Real Boy' is - simply put - too staggering in sound to not be drawn to it.
Back at highlighting Linek's expressive vocal style, 'We Are The Ones' paints an excitingly progressive tonal picture: rhythmically grave, soon energetic and impetuously menacing melodies put even bigger emphasis on the edgy bitterness Linek's voice adopts throughout; hard-hitting lyrics add to the overall brooding, however, still fierce nature of the song, help to fuel its feisty flair.
Finishing things off with a stirringly powerful and haunting song, Shape Of The Sun's second EP is one to take good notice of. Linek luckily didn't keep last track 'He Mostly Kept It To Himself' to himself and so we can join him in celebrating the atmospherically anthemic spirit of US pop-rock that is most prominent here. Playfully hypnotic core-melodics join vibrantly ringing, clangorous cymbals and thrillingly pulsing percussions; ear-pleasing and euphonious harmonies soar in an opulent fashion, only to fall perfectly in line with smooth layers of emotional, ardently echoing vocals, vital to foster the wistful vein of the composition. Carpe carmina's catchy tune alert clearly went off listening to this!
Reach out & listen to Shape Of The Sun on ...
.. twitter ...
.. facebook ...
.. his official website ...
.. soundcloud ...
.. and make sure to get a copy of 'ARTiFiCiAL HEARTS' via bandcamp or Itunes.
A delicious read as always :)
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