Album Review: Half * Alive Are Fully Alive In Now, Not Yet
Powered by slick beats, handclaps, warbling bass, wild horns, shimmering keys, and an ecstatic falsetto-inflected chants, Half*Alive’s debut, Now, Not Yet, makes you fully alive. There is a DIY quality to their sound that feels like the dreamed soundtrack of every Brooklynite on their 19th hour at a coffee-shop. Laptops would shut as everyone would look up from their cup of joe and free Wi-Fi to try and figure out what is this surreally, delicious sound.
Half*Alive’s Now, Not Yet shows music is a craft. They build rhythms like they are stacks of beads; each one aligning to create a jewelry piece of sound. The result is music that feels handmade in beauty and ready-made to be heard. Tracks like, “Pure Gold,” “Rest” and “Trust” have Half*Alive going above genre because, again, they feel so “handmade” and particular. They collect sound like one would rocks and shells to toss across rivers. Thus, their rustic approach to even electro-beats is hypnotically different, and belongs in an Etsy shop as much as it does Spotify.
half·alive – ok ok? (Official Video)
Lead Vocalist, Josh Taylor, unpacks lyrics as if they were shipped from Amazon Prime. He unwraps boxed emotions to see if they have missing parts or are defected, which is so relatable to any person but, particularly, to someone in their twenties. Emerging adulthood is such a weird phase because, basically, we are “man-babies” and “woman-babies.” Life hits us incredibly hard as we realize dreams don’t always come true, and, in this generation’s case, jobs do not always mean paid. Hence, the pressure to feel loved and be loving surmounts because, at least, if we are going to be unpaid, overworked, and socially voiceless in deciding our nation’s future, we should have a nice, solid romance.
half*alive – still feel. [VIDEO]
With backgrounds in film, Half*Alive’s debut is cinematic. It is colorfully vivid and down-to-earth in its approach of human relationships, especially with one’s self. They display the highs and lows of life, love, and everything in between with a sonic and soulful freshness. The result is a debut that demands listening! For More Information On Half*Alive Click Here.
