Since I’ve delved face-first into the cacophony of music review opportunities I’ve discovered a love for things that are electronic, ambient, and a bit trippy. Youth Lagoon, Tycho, Purity Ring, M83, and most recently Washed Out are examples.
Paracosm is sensory overload at it’s finest. The album is excellent at invoking a myriad of visuals in your mind’s eye – an avenue which for me to attempt to describe would be incredibly presumptuous and even a bit arrogant. It’s only fair to assume that each person will react in their own way.
A highlight sonically is undoubtedly “All I Know,” which has had some success as a single on alternative radio (weird, huh?). The hook (if you can call it that) explodes in ethereal “whoosh” of sound like a bucket of warm water being dumped on your head. At least, that was my thought. “It All Feels Right” has Ernest Greene singing a melody that is therapeutic seemingly no matter what context I try to view it through. “Great Escape” is a good example of a movement of the record with a melancholy temperament, while the proceeding title track definitely sounds a lot like Tycho. There comes a certain point, however where one cannot really break down Paracosm (as in the entire album) in a fair way…it really exists as one composition to be listened to from start to finish. For this reason, it will be interesting to see how the music translates live, or rather how Greene proposes dealing with this predicament he has created for himself. I’m optimistic he will be able to find ways to intertwine compositions from throughout his career, perhaps through improvisation.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l2C27jP4Kw&h=297&w=450]Paracosm is an album that needs to be heard widely, and with an open mind. While certain attributes are undeniable (the therapeutic, calming aspect of the electronic music for example) people are best left to themselves to interpret the record. Passive listening is excusable too. Greene does a phenomenal job no matter how you spin it though – that opinion I would defend if I needed to.
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