Why hello! If you’ve been following my blog recently, you know that tonight means more “Sounds of Summer.” Fortunately, even while juggling my new job, keeping up with my triathlon training, and still writing a decent amount six days out of the week, I can still find the time to delve into new music.
Summer has shifted for me once more. Despite some pretty heavy emotional lows, I’m on the upswing of a new chapter. I feel more stable in my own identity. I made a new friend last week and started exploring our mutual passions for running and reading good books. I even began reading one of his favorite books: South of Broad, by Pat Conroy. I’m barely four chapters in and have already been through the emotional wringer a few times. Whew!
Has my writing been consistent? Not as much as I’d like it to be. However, I’m still doing a fair job of encouraging and praising myself when I do reach my daily goal of 2,000 words.
My song selection for tonight marks a return to the electronic/vaporwave band known as HOME. Randy Goffee is the one-man show that is HOME, and I had the pleasure of buying his album “Odyssey” from Midwest Collective yesterday. This is a heartfelt love letter to the synth pop music scene of the 80s, and I’m struck by how much verve and mellow nostalgia is crammed into this 12-track album. One of HOME’s songs, “Resonance,” was my choice for a previous “Sounds of Summer” entry that I wrote five weeks ago. I thought that no other song on this album could top “Resonance.”
Enter “New Machines.”
While I’ve recently stumbled across a few bands that do a great job of recapturing the feel of the 80s, mostly notably The Midnight, none of them have the same lush and dream-like quality as HOME. “New Machines” has a unique kind of tenacity and mellow casualness to it. For me, the synthesizers and beat pads evoke a strong sense of deliberate and hopeful wandering, rather than just a whimsical flippancy. There is a strong sense of wanderlust in this song, and I always feel like I’m just about to go on a cross-country drive as soon as I hear those first few notes.
This is the kind of music I love to meander through in my head on these dulcet summer nights. Some of my favorite memories from these past few days have this song playing in the background.
I hope many of you enjoy the sounds of “New Machines.” Here’s to a great weekend! Rate this:Share this:
