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Are You Alone?

The Top 30 Records of 2015

Music ListTransverso MediaComment
2015 year end photo.png

3. Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars

Thank Your Lucky Stars acts as both an extension of and pivot point for Beach House’s career as a whole. Many may want the band to actively change in a progressive way, but the band chooses to continually broaden their sound in the most familiar and microscopic ways possible instead. Perhaps one of the best integration of all five preceding albums, you hear the metronome, drums are crisper, individual instruments are audible, and Victoria Legrand’s lyrics are unexpectedly discernible at certain points. It's what works for them, and its afforded Beach House the ability to carve out a dream-pop legacy (and avoid becoming a caricature) on their own terms.

 

2. Majical Cloudz - Are You Alone?

Are You Alone? takes off where the Montreal duo’s preceding Impersonator left off; a paradox of bare-bones, minimalist soundscapes ebbing with lush depth that are somehow simultaneously tranquilizing and uplifting. Welsh’s immaculately vulnerable monologues and unflinching vocals are gently bold, and they drive their synth lullabies forward with severe care. It's Welsh at his most overbearing, and yet his tight grip is irresistible. Calculatedly organic, passionately controlled, it’s a journal reading in a dream.

 

 

1. Tame Impala - Currents

Currents is the most adventurous, interesting, and well-produced collection of songs Kevin Parker has created thus far, sitting atop Tame Impala's discography as the most mature and painstakingly crafted iteration in their twisted psych-pop world. From the lush synth tracks that bubble through the mix to his effortless, washed out vocals, every sound is rendered with the utmost care. Currents proves Parker is unable to stick with a certain sound, forever looking for new ways to evolve his ideas and push his project beyond what was expected when Innerspeaker first hit the shelves.

 

Find Company in Majical Cloudz's Crippling and Cathartic 'Are You Alone?'

Music ReviewWeston PaganoComment

You can sense the music that Majical Cloudz creates staring into your soul the same way you feel Devon Welsh’s unblinking eyes piercing and stitching you up all at once. The sound of Majical Cloudz is bathing in that small, warm patch of light streaming into an otherwise dark room. There are icicles on the mantel.

Are You Alone? takes off where the Montreal duo’s preceding Impersonator left off; a paradox of bare-bones, minimalist soundscapes ebbing with lush depth that are somehow simultaneously tranquilizing and uplifting. Welsh’s immaculately vulnerable monologues and unflinching vocals are gently bold, and they drive their synth lullabies forward with severe care. Calculatedly organic, passionately controlled, it’s a journal reading in a dream.

Not much has changed in that regard; it’s still quintessentially Majical Cloudz. If anything, this new record has shrunk the band’s dynamism to an even narrower midrange. Gone are the pitter patterings of “Mister” and the thick locomotion of “Childhood’s End.” Even the already opaque and pale cover art of it’s predecessor is scaled back to a purer incarnation sans artist name. It’s austerity at its most suffocating.

"Will you let me change? / I want to but I think you want me the same,” Welsh asks on “Control.” And it’s a fair assumption. While there is certainly little evolution here, who can complain when the niche carved out is so compelling and captivating even at it’s most static? Majical Cloudz may need to diversify at some point in the future to keep the fast-paced music world interested, but that time is unimaginable as of today. In “Heavy,” he concludes with calligraphic repetition, "You gotta learn to love me / Cause I am what I am.” 

And what is he? Undoubtedly an acquired taste for some, yet his lyrical content is not that far removed from the pop platitudes of Top 40 with lines like, "And we're going downtown / Cause we feel like running around / Is it really this fun when you're on my mind? / Is it really this cool to be in your life?” in lovely standout “Downtown.” The uniqueness in Welsh’s artistry is not necessarily every sentiment in itself, but the crushing sincerity and earnestness in which they are mined and delivered.

Welsh's simplicity is always innate and genuine, never formulaic. It’s as if his words are leaking out of a very well-produced private tape recorder one’s stumbled upon in the night. Though Are You Alone? as a whole is an offer of companionship, there is still a sense of shouting into the void as the title track implores, "What's the point of a sad, sad song / Do You hear what I'm saying / Or not at all?" 

There is at least one change since Impersonator, however, and that is somewhat of an upward emotional turn. While the previous record is near end-to-end misery, Are You Alone? often transitions into glimpses of sanguine, childlike wonder. "And if suddenly I die / I hope they will say / That he was obsessed and it was okay,” he admits. His obsession is crippling and cathartic and carries over to the listener by IV.

The first time I heard leading single “Silver Car Crash” I was strapped to a Boeing in the process of taking off. What ensued was a fitting 4D experience, literally soaring along with the track’s whirring body and Smiths-esque, morbid confessions of adoration. As the pressure pushed me back down into the seat to spite the adrenaline I wondered how much of it was my own inertia and how much of it was Welsh himself, slowly constricting around me. I hoped my vessel would fare better than his own vehicle's violent end.

"And I know love is worth it / I am in perfect love with you / But I am dead already / And I am bleeding onto you / I hope you won't forget me / I am so hopelessly for you" he asserts in his final breath. It's Welsh at his most overbearing, and yet his tight grip is irresistible. Unlike "Bugs Don't Buzz," Are You Alone? might just end with a smile, even if it's a crooked one softly broken on the dashboard.

Majical Cloudz Release New Music Video "Downtown," Announce Tour

New Music, Music NewsWeston PaganoComment

Following the music video for "Silver Car Crash," minimalist emoters Majical Cloudz have released a similarly DIY, black and white music video for the new second single from forthcoming sophomore album Are You Alone?, "Downtown."

The playful home video-esque production and the unusually optimistic nature of the track itself ("Is it really this fun when you're on my mind? / Is it really this cool to be in your life?") is in stark contrast to much of the Montreal duo's previous discography, though the gorgeous depth of synth and simple yet beyond powerful vocal deliveries that they've come to be known for are still there, if not even stronger than before.

Oh, and we finally get to see him blink, even if only briefly, around the 2:09 mark.

Are You Alone? comes out next Friday via Matador, and it can't come soon enough. Watch "Downtown" and check out the new tour dates below.

Majical Cloudz Tour Dates

10/17 – Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
10/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
10/22 – Halifax, NS @ Halifax Pop Explosion
10/23 – Montreal, QC @ Phi Centre
11/07 – Middlebury, VT @ Middlebury College
11/18 – London, UK @ St. John on Bethnal Green
11/20 – Paris, FR @ L’Archipel
11/23 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique Rotonde
11/25 – Berlin, DE @ ACUD
01/15 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
01/16 – Detroit, MI @ TBA
01/18 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
01/22 – Vancouver, BC @ Cobalt
01/23 – Seattle, WA @ TBA
01/24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
01/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
01/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBA

"Are You Alone?" Then Listen to Majical Cloudz's New Title-Track

New MusicWeston PaganoComment

Following "Silver Car Crash," the atmospheric beauty of a first look at Majical Cloudz's forthcoming sophomore record Are You Alone?, we are now graced with the second single and title-track. According to their site,

“‘Are You Alone?’ is a song about life! People doing things and feeling things and falling all over the place! Lots of emotions! Just trying to keep going! Sometimes it’s easy! Sometimes it’s hard! It’s a song about caring what happens! To other people!”

"What's the point of a sad, sad song / Do you hear what I'm saying / Or not at all?" Welsh ponders over a bed of synths and muted clicking percussion. We're listening, Welsh, and we're ready for more.

Are You Alone? is out October 16 via Matador. Watch the music video for first single "Silver Car Crash" here.

Majical Cloudz Doesn't Blink Once In "Silver Car Crash" and It's Lovely

New MusicWeston PaganoComment

Majical Cloudz's new music video for "Silver Car Crash," the first single from his forthcoming sophomore album Are You Alone?, is a playfully off-putting and genuine little black-and-white journey with Devon Welsh as he balances on a railroad track and stares directly into your soul.

Earnest and simple, it eschews the grand production of moving masterpieces "Childhood's End" and "Bugs Don't Buzz," more resembling the DIY charm of "Savage," all without one. single. blink.

Are You Alone? is out October 16 via Matador.

Majical Cloudz Announce New Album 'Are You Alone?', Release Single "Silver Car Crash"

Music News, New MusicWeston PaganoComment

Thankfully it appears that the first minimalist, white-colored album containing hauntingly emotive music from Majical Cloudz was not a one-off deal, with the Montreal-based duo of Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto announcing they have done it again.

This time it is called Are You Alone?, and you can hear the beautiful first single from this sophomore LP, "Silver Car Crash," below. Continuing the dreary yet intensely driven synthesizers and immaculately heavy vocals of 2013's Impersonator, the track is quintessentially Majical Cloudz.

In a Tumblr post today, Welsh revealed an Andy Warhol painting to be the song's main inspiration, saying,

“Our song “Silver Car Crash” is named after this painting by Andy Warhol, called “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)“. He made it in 1963 as part of a group of paintings that are known as the “Death and Disaster series”.
His paintings can sometimes be very spiritual and preoccupied with an other world, even though their surface makes them seem more innocent. (When I look at these paintings I always imagine that Andy Warhol is asking, “What happens after death?”)
I really like that kind of double meaning, and the way the paintings combine two different preoccupations that are, in life, always mixing together.
I think the song “Silver Car Crash” also has a kind of double meaning and combines emotions which are usually combined in some form anyway.
It was inspired by life but also by Andy Warhol!”
Andy Warhol's painting "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)"

Andy Warhol's painting "Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)"

An official statement on the forthcoming LP further explains,

“Building off a solidly-laid visual and sonic foundation, the narrative remains – simple yet emotionally forthcoming lyrics showcasing raw vulnerability, backed by sparse instrumentation and minimalist production. [Main songwriter Devon] Welsh delivers melancholic but melody driven vocals echoing off elemental tones, praising love and friendship, commiserating over heartbreak and sadness.”

Are You Alone?

  1. Disappeared
  2. Control
  3. Are You Alone?
  4. So Blue
  5. Heavy
  6. Silver Car Crash
  7. Change
  8. If You're Lonely
  9. Downtown
  10. Easier Said Than Done
  11. Game Show
  12. Call On Me

Are You Alone? is due out October 16 via Matador.