astrel k - brighter spells
a standout from a new album by rhys edwards, vinyl dust in the opening four bars barely prepares you for the massive attack bassline that knocks down the door.
tryyyyyy
a crisis averted!
i’ll cross the line again
a crisis averted
a child from the future shall write again
a curse!
yourself!
But let in the light, let in
on concrete blocks
on spiral stairs
more self assured in brighter spells
the cat came in
the moment’s here and it’s murderous!
I lost my foot on final stair
tumbled back to where i came
the hallway sleeps another kväll
on andra våningen is where brighter spells and times of trouble, entwine, then hide, then end
A conscience commuting
a dead end or one way route?
The context is worthy, astute observation of yellow suit
they cast a line
a call to bite
a reel to turn
a revert to type
a table turned
a lesson learned and it's murderous
You lost your foot on final stair
tumbled back to where you came
the hallway sleeps another kväll, on andra våningen is where
maybe you’re right
but that’s no way to go about it
I’m likely a light that was off but now is on
maybe this is less surprising if you're not familiar with previous projects ulrika spacek or tripwires, where the low end was almost always supplied by a bass guitar, but rhys has a shit ton of instruments now and they're spread out all over this song. drums, synths, guitar, tambo, sure. but then strings? and a piano and idk i think i'm hearing a xylophone in here. meticulously arranged! parts swoop in and out, never intrusively.
i particularly like the snear in his voice during the line "more self assured in brighter spells" and the strained soft little overdubs in the chorus.
kväll is swedish for "evening", and andra våningen is "second floor" - i'll probably simmer on the lyrics a little longer before i feel confident interpreting them, beyond that i suppose they're the thoughts on "progress"/"direction"/"movin' on up" of a depressive musician that expatriated to stockholm.
i hope rhys is having a brighter spell at the moment.