Nick is going to write another one! WOO! Send music shit over to [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.
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| photos stolen from the internet. |
When going into this album, the only release from Euphoria Again I had listened to was Mickey Shoots Up from The Mouse Rides On. Before listening, I revisited that track and was very surprised when I finally started Waiting On Time To Fly. This project is nothing like what I had heard before. Gone are the distorted guitars (for the most part) and skate-punk attitude with an alt-rock, shoegaze-tinged sound, and here are the careful thoughts and ideas of a man who has lived a whole decade since that original project. Beautifully produced acoustic guitars, natural, full piano, and lyrically-focused vocals are the primary elements across this entire album--with some sax thrown around here and there for good measure.
Oh yeah, and this is the solo project of John Keith from the more well-known Knifeplay, which is another amazing project you should check out, if you haven’t already.
Sky Remembers opens the album on a relaxingly pensive note. “Let’s take a walk / The sky remembers more than you might think / Places we’ve gone / Every memory gets in its teeth.” A great track on its own merits--but it functions even more efficiently within the context of the rest of the project. It introduces the primary sonic elements of this album: acoustic guitar, keys, and indie/folk influence. Despite possibly being an easy target, it brings to mind the more careful compositions of Alex G’s most recent record, God Save The Animals--something that becomes even more apparent when taking into account both artists’ previous works.
Las Cruces. Tonight, the morning crawl, the sun, the end of the day, time, slipping away, the stars and the sky. While the previous track teased these important lyrical motifs, Las Cruces dives straight into them. Throughout this project, we’ll be hearing many different interpolations of these ideas, but here, John Keith gives us a love song, full of romantic statements and full of desires that, despite the melancholy laced within them, comes across as innocent and carefree. “So I wait for the moment when the sun dips down the road." Remember this line for a nice contrast in the second to last song.
Mothers Eyes is a warm, if not slightly unremarkable song. Upon repeat listens to this project for this review, and my own personal spinning of the tracks here, this one is probably the one I’ve come back to the least. The breakdown in the second half of the song, though, is a great transition from the quick, rhythmic bouts of vocals in the first half, giving us some nice held out, lead vocals with some extra dimension added by the same, “Every, every, every, every, every” line in the first half, filling the back of the mix. This is the first track where lyrical repetition becomes a centerpiece, and it will certainly not be the last. In my opinion, each use of it from here is much more impactful.
One More Time has one of my favorite track progressions on the entire project. It begins with the familiar singer-songwriter/folk influenced sound we’ve become accustomed to, but eventually introduces droning, distorted leadlines that begin and end with escalating harmonies that dip into a declining progression halfway through to accompany the vocals. While most of the songs up to this point have been pensive or reflective, this is the first to introduce an overt optimism, trailing off in a continuous upwards momentum.
If An Angel Were A Ghost. The acoustic guitar opens this track with a yearning. For what? That is very much the question. One of the most intriguing song titles on the project lends itself to a beautiful ballad. Once the drums and clean electric guitar drop themselves into our hearts, the track takes its time--resting on a sparse and beautiful instrumental before the vocals come back in. Again, repetition takes center stage here, reminding us of the title multiple times, the final one heralding a compositional shift that marks the first appearance of saxophone on the album. Another solid song!
Pulling Stars Down. “In the morning I feel fine / Even though I miss you... in my life.” The first time I heard this, I was singing it to myself the whole day. I love how it returns to the, “In the morning...” line halfway through, but fakes you out by continuing with the melody of the verse with different lyrics. It makes it even more satisfying when the real thing returns for the end. The more and more I listen to these songs, this one continues to be one of the ones I return to the most. It’s got such a satisfying setup and payoff.
White Light And Wind. Absolutely, hands down, my favorite track of the album. The complex and layered composition is probably what gets me so excited. In the first verse, we’re introduced to this moody, twangy, beautifully produced lapsteel guitar, which continues to accompany the acoustic throughout the song. And once the first chorus comes in, strings follow suit. When the energy dies down and the vocals take a break, what seems to be an electric guitar played with a slide, so warm and fuzzy and full you can feel its shape tickling your ears, eases itself into the mix. And when the track reaches its second and last chorus, the string section from before but more melodically involved than in the previous chorus, it makes you forget just how little that fuzzy delight was present. All of this in a song just over three minutes in length.
Three Legged Friend. The first appearance of a twelve-string guitar; this song makes for a nice, mundane breather before the penultimate track. “Laughing with my three-legged friend." Who knows if this is a cat, or a dog, or other pet. Either way, it makes for a very sweet and emotional listen. When the piano and light synths came in, it was enough to make me cry. You can really feel the attachment he has with his pet, even the instrumentation alone could have communicated this same emotion to me. And that there is what really made me respond the way I did. While it doesn’t explicitly mention it, one can surmise that this pet may have passed away, and as someone who has recently lost a pet as well, it very much connected with me.
Gods Abandon. Okay, I lied, this is by far my favorite track on the album. Gods Abandon is where all the different elements of this album: lyrical repetition, both pleasant and cautious nostalgia, similarities to God Save The Animals (a more personal takeaway), and an overwhelming sense of yearning, or waiting for something, comes to a head. “And I sit by my window and wait for the sun." This single line sums up the entire project. While not only being a nice contrast to him waiting for the sun to go down in Las Cruces, showing his turn towards a more positive, optimistic outlook on his life, it also still holds the notes of nostalgia and desire drenching this entire project. For what else does one do, but think of the past or future when waiting for the sun to rise?
Little Black Glass. Where does Klein decide to end this record after such an amazing penultimate track? Well, with probably what you’d expect: yet another reflective banger. “Looking out my window, what do you see? / I see half of what I thought was of meaning to me.” It seems that, despite the victorious and emotional conclusion of the last track, Klein has lost a bit of the connection to the things that once brought him happiness or meaning. Ah, but what is this? My favorite line from Gods Abandon returns here, implying that this proverbial window he’s looking through could be the same from the last track. Could the sun have lost its brilliance in the many times he’s stood there waiting for it? For myself, I can draw a lot of similarities to my experiences. Many of the things that once caused my eyes to open wide, such as staying up until the sun rises, hiking my favorite mountains at night (I don’t know how I was never bitten by a snake), etc. have lost their sheen in my increasingly adult life. But, I feel with the context of the last track and the returning line, he seems to be at peace with this. Finally reaching a place of rest.
Waiting On Time To Fly is an album that couldn’t have come into my life at a better time. While Klein has much more life experience than me, it was reassuring to see that across from this giant, never-ending cesspool that is my mid twenties, there can be something more peaceful and grateful waiting for me. As someone who is constantly haunted and blessed alike by nostalgia, I was able to get a lot from this project. I hope you do too!
9/10
Stream Waiting On Time To Fly.
-Nick
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