Album Review: Communions Will Show That Love Is “Blue”
When you think of punk or post-punk, you may not think “sensitivity”. Yet, what is more the result of sensitivity than rage or confusion, which are the sentiments that define these genres. Communions newest album, Blue, is post-punk impressionism: adding ethereal waves to the moodiness that inspires their music.
Copenhagen’s Communions used Blue as a sonic charter of their journey from the past few years as a band with clear knowledge of their talent but a not so clear path to their sound. It is not uncommon for the creative spirit to struggle with their capacity to do everything while not having the heart for a specific “something”. Communions knew they wanted to show the broodiness of love, to which they succeeded. Blue comes off wistful in sound and vocals, which, ultimately, is what feeling love’s blues is like. Songs such as, “Today” and “Alarm Clocks” have a breeziness in arrangements, especially their guitar melodies, that elevates the post-punk genre as a cathartic music. When you discuss your pain, you also have the opportunity to release it, of which tracks like “Got To Be Free”, “Passed You By”, and “Take It All” reveal how confining love can be when it is more wrong than right. When we think of love, we think of it as a liberator of our spirit, but, when a relationship turns sour, its sweetness becomes bitter. To show the bitterness of love is lead singer Martin Rehof.
Rehof has a voice that reminds people that post-punk developed in the 80’s. His voice drips with the avant-garde stylings and dreamy plays that 80’s singers used in their voice to both capture and captivate the weirdness of love. After all, as seen in songs “She’s A Myth” and “Midnight Child”, love is a mystifying feeling. It seems to “poof” into your soul like a rabbit in a magic hat. You wonder where that “furry thing” came from, but marvel that it even showed up. Rehof has a voice that replaces the rawness of punk with the relish of post-punk, and how, rhythmically, it is a genre that aims to be more fluid. Blue certainly streams from track to track with a clarity that Communions has worked hard to attain, both personally and musically. After years of both geographical and self exploration, Blue carries an undercurrent of discovery. Its beats are light even when layered together to have a rowdier, rocking sensibility such as “Its Like Air” and “Come On I’m Waiting”. Thus, if music is a reflection of your soul, then Blue shows that Communions has grown up.
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsCome On, I’m Waiting
Communions is maturer and preciser in what it wishes to achieve for listeners. They give off the nostalgic visions of the 80’s where even heartache was portrayed as a glamorous fantasy, but also provide this timeless truth: love, for all its beauty, can also be blue. For More Information On Communions and To Buy Blue Click Here.
