Album Review: Sylvan Esso Asks “What Now?” After 2016
Fresh, wild, and completely modern, are three terms to describe Sylvan Esso’s What Now , This sophomoric album feels hand-picked by Amelia Meath & Nick Sanborn for every emotional instant that needs musical backing. From the quietly gorgeous “Slack Jaw” that feels made to listen to when you are staying in from a rainy day or the cool rave that is “Radio”, which will pump up any pre-game, What Now is moreso a soundtrack for what next, which is rightful considering it was made as a response to 2016.
Sylvan Esso – Die Young [OFFICIAL]
Like many artists, Sylvan Esso has walked away from the “carnage” of 2016 absolutely confounded. Good guys do not always win, which is a reality that artists know, but as natural-born dreamers, like to ignore. Thus, What Now is Sylvan Esso’s ultimate confrontation to the undeniable ugliness of the world, but doneso with a vibrancy that is fun in certain tracks such as “Kick Jump Twist” but more synthetically nuanced like in songs “Signal” and “Sound”. Instrumentally, the albums feels as if you are watching a heart-rate flash upon a screen, but it is monitored with neon, color-changing pixels. There is something both exhilarating and calming about What Now? that, at times, makes you unsure of your warranted reaction. Songs such as the moody “Song” and the bouncing “Die Young”, immediately enter your mind and physical frame to sway it according to Meath’s vocals; which leave you torn between dancing and just listening. Meath has a voice that can be haunting and observant like in “The Glow”, curious and wonderful as in “Rewind”, or altogether danceable as Sanborn’s production like in “Kick Jump Twist”. There ability to be everything, even in contrast, is what makes Sylvan Esso the right band to tackle/ analyze 2016.
Sylvan Esso – Radio (Music Video)
Meath has a voice that is quietly powerful, which fleshes out that What Now? was written off of the chaotic experiences of 2016. At first listen/ appearance, What Now and even Sylvan Esso appear like a band that would be anything but dramatic or socio-political. They are bright pop with a virtual aura that, again, makes your heart feel “pixelized” like the record’s digitized rhythms. Yet, there are moments in What Now? that are surprisingly poignant and piercing in their portrayal of life as a dual energy. In essence, human beings can simultaneously be cruel and kind, happy and sad, victorious and failing, and chaotic and clear. How we carry our paradoxes and hypocrisies are what 2016 was all about, and of which so is What Now Thus, for an album that goes beyond phenomenal music into powerful, human lessons, Sylvan Esso becomes an unexpected, but likable teacher. For More Information On Sylvan Esso And To Buy What Now On April 28 Click Here.
Sylvan Esso – Kick Jump Twist [OFFICIAL]
