It’s not often that one comes across a collection of music that presents as a challenge to review, despite it looking fairly straightforward at first. “Across – Choices” is one such album.
“Across” is a Colombian artist who takes pride in bending soundscapes; pushing the boundaries of genre and style to bring forth a musical style that one can only describe as the Schrodinger’s Cat of music, so to speak– you may never understand fully unless you look closelier.
Truth is a powerful driver for a moving musical performance. “Choices” presents a collection of five songs crafted as the truth of the emotions that crafted the writing process. A genre-fluid, style-bending record, it manages to cover a vast variety of moods, styles and production.
“Burn The Ground”, the freshman track on the record, catapults you back to the era of 80s-90s rock-style pop music, save for the bridge. A danceable rhythm with catchy, singable lyrics concocts an overall catchy number; with some progressive elements to add to the overall auditory candy.
Said candy continues with “The Truth”, only this time with a heavier-sounding arrangement and a decidedly more metal sound. There is tension in the song, a delicate dance between discomfort and ordered chaos. The production is overall fresh with good synth choices that blend in well with the rest of the ensemble; the vocals pull their weight rather well.
“Give And Get”, track three, foregoes the almost-established theme of rock influence for a deep-house, synth-heavy electronic sound that would immediately put me in a nightclub in The Hamptons. There is innovative vocoder use for extra added flair; the song has a distinctive groove that makes it irresistible on the dance floor.
“The Only One” is again a sizeable detour; this time focusing on a vocal-heavy, minimally orchestrated presentation. This puts the vocalist front and centre– but it’s a graceful presentation nonetheless. There is good harmony going on in the song, as well as a subtle percussive groove that adds a little panache to the song.
The last track on the EP, “Pain”, starts out on the backbeat with a subtle arpeggio holding the initial bars of the song together as the vocals sound like they’re gearing up to tell a story. This later evolves into a synth-driven pop rock number that would remind me of the 90s with its DX7s and Korgs; overall, the song is innovative and well-driven.
In summary, “Choices” is exactly what it sounds like; the ultimate expression of artistic freedom; a view not limited by things like genre or style, but one that is as honest and lifelike as possible. Overall, a great listen! Check it out here-
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
