| Violet by Boy In Static is an album that you really have to be in the mood for, but when you are, it will be something you'll never forget. The boy in question is actually a grown man by the name of Alex Chen, whose approach to his brand of pop music is to reveal personal thoughts and reflections in a manner that can be considered dreamy, ethereal, and very poignant. The first track, "First Love", sounds very European-influenced, with the vocals going through a layer of reverb while a guitar chimes through and stereophonic sleigh bells dance through the soundscape as he sings about the one who he'll always remember. Other songs like 'Immortal", "December", and "Catching Death" seems as if he was listening to a lot of Simon & Garfunkel, Love & Rockets, New Order, and Radiohead. before he recorded them, and yet Boy In Static doesn't necessarily sound like either of them. The lyrics sound like something one would find in a diary or in a composition book, waiting to be read but only at the right time. Chen doesn't have an aggressive voice, but with a gentle approach he is able to bring out as much emotion as anyone who may sing with a lot of strength and vibrato. Violet comes off like the ultimate road trip soundtrack CD, where you're with a group of friends or significant other, and you're questioning life and accepting the ugliness and beauty for what it is. Or it could be the album you listen to 20 years from now while reflecting on your life, asking if you've done everything you wanted, and if you are willing to go another 20 and fine out if there's more in store. In "Catching Death", with a rhythmless backing he says: Our words are cold, our breath is white / we're catching death tonight / afraid to sleep, afraid to cry / the sunlight crawls inside / our regrets escape the windows glow / too young to be left alone. This leads to the album's closing track, the haunting and beautiful "Leave You Blind". The elements observed in "Catching Death" are revived one last time: The sound of skies are all overrun / by angry gods who disappear when morning comes / stare into the sky until the sunlight leaves you blind / stare into the sky and when it bleeds back into white / it leaves us nowhere. The song then leads into an instrumental passage which takes it close to the eight minute mark, and not once does it get boring. The layers of guitar and what sounds like an accordian (nice use of it too) makes it sound like a slightly twisted take of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless album. The repetitiveness just helps drive the song's point home, and as the drums signal the end of the song, it makes a slow fade out into that sunlight and you almost don't want it to end. Chen, as Boy In Static, will become an important and influential singer/songwriter if he keeps up with the quality of work he presents on Violet. I can see fans easily embracing these songs and turning it into lifelong mantras, the material is worth that type of praise. In a live setting he is backed by a full band, and I can only see the intensity of his compositions moving to a higher level when played in a room full of people. He is someone everyone should keep an eye out for. - Music For America |
1XLP/Out Of Print