by Joel Klaverkamp
When you’re a music journalist, people will literally send you music to write about that they think you will like and the more they get to know your taste, the better the music you get to listen to! It’s the dream really, I highly recommend you start writing music reviews. That’s how I came upon this little gem from Praises called EP4 on the label Hand Drawn Dracula. It is so good! It is definitely my kind of thing.
Unfortunately when you’re a music journalist you often read the pre-existing bios and snippets before you start writing and feel like you’ll never be able to do the music justice to describe it so well as it is already described. Well, here goes.
Praises slow your heart like a potent drug. The opening track, “Apples for My Love”, is immediate sensory relief. Your breathing slows too. Your surrender is instant. Warm and slow waves of deep peace and dark longing ebb and flow through your mind and body. Like the score to the high school slow dance scene in the imaginary 80s cool indie movie you’ve been developing, the music has now possessed you.
“We Let Go” is a bubbling rage. It must be said the PJ Harvey vibe is strong on this track. The grooviest one on the EP, it carries you along with it’s low bouncing beat and makes you feel a lot cooler than you actually are until it descends into absolute screaming, nearly unlistenable chaos at the end. OK perhaps not for everyone but like I said, it’s my kind of thing.
“Soil” is just straight up murder music. Sinister synths and a pulsing, hypnotic, and simple beat with a soft vocal melody meandering around up top. It is crash you into the rocks kind of music. Desolation jams. This whole EP is night drive music. Goth in vibe. Synthetic leather.
The final track, “A World On Fire” wraps up the EP perfectly. More pulsing beats, dark minimal bass, softly dissonant vocals and crackling textures. It’s over before you know it and you want more. This is a moody record. Definitely put “Apples For My Love” on your make out playlist at the very least.