Girl at the Rock Shows

Fridays are always a huge day for new music. This Friday seems particularly nutty with new releases, so, instead of hitting a show tonight, I figured I would stay in and try to get ahead on some of these new releases that I want to share with you, like ‘Dysphoria’ from boredom & Romance- a Portland, OR and Atlanta, GA based duo.

This ten-song album kicks off with “1978.” As soon as this track started, I was transported away from my desk and my messy house (which I am determined to have clean before I fall asleep tonight) and into space. Extraterrestrial tones took over my house as waves of metallic sounds interrupted the serene, yet empty, soundscape. Although I say that it’s an empty soundscape, it’s far from silent. The backdrop of this song is as lush as the most cozy blanket you own. I love the way that this lush soundscape remains in the background while those metallic sounds streak across the atmosphere. It’s a cool intro to boredom & Romance, but it doesn’t give me a vibe as to what’s going to come next on this album.

“1978” fades out, making space for “1995.” I don’t know what these years mean or even if they are years (although, as you listen to the lyrics of this song, you realize that they are, in fact, years), but I like the progression that comes between these first two songs. This second track is a bit more constructed. The beginning reminded me of The Faint, but it still had that almost spacelike element in the background, still lingering from the opening track. This track takes away the ambient soundscape and replaces it with something much more severe and industrial in feeling.

The opening trio of year-titled songs ends with “2003.” This track brings back a bit more of that ambient energy felt in “1978,” but with a super desperate feeling in it. That sense of desperation comes through loud and clear in the vocals, which start off as a voice pleading for something. I wasn’t quite able to tell what the voice was pleading for, but the desperation felt is palpable and insanely dramatic in all of the right ways. Part of me wanted this desperation to come to a head. For it to all even out and get sorted out, but that never happens, and the tension that that adds to this song and album in general is something that will surely give you goosebumps.

The tension of “2003” finally breaks in an almost default kind of way as the track ends and “Is This My Skin Forever?” takes over. This is the first song on the album where the vocals play a significant role, and the eeriness they bring to the track is haunting, to say the least. I won’t say they are the most beautiful vocals I have ever heard. They feel a bit glitchy but smooth at the same time. I know that makes zero sense, but if you listen to this track, you’ll understand what I mean. They pose the existential crisis-forming question of “Is This My Skin Forever?” It’s a question I’ve never thought about, but as this song played through, I couldn’t get the question out of my head, and I’ll be honest, it sent me down a slight spiral into the rabbit hole of my own head. Just when I was getting lost in the spiral, this song ends, and “Dysphoria” takes over.

“Dysphoria” feels like you’re in a tunnel. It begins with an echoed ambiance where you can almost see the depth of the sound. That sounds crazy, I know, but there’s something super visual about this song. You can hear the tunnel get shallow at points and then, at others, can listen to something like the ocean washing by on the other side. I’m not saying that these are the visuals that you will get when listening to this fifth track, but I will say that this song will surely make you see things with all of the textures and sounds that boredom & Romance uses to create this track.

I was expecting a sense of madness to take over with “This Fucking Clock Won’t Stop Ticking” if only because of the name of this track, but, instead, I was greeted with a super tender feeling song. Again, this is one of the few tracks where I feel like the vocals really command this track along its way, but they aren’t your standard vocals. Again, there’s a haunting effect on them at times, and at others, the vocals act as the ticking of the clock mentioned in the song title. It’s almost like performance art without the performance in a way and it has me determined to see boredom & Romance live (if they ever play live and decide to come up to the Twin Cities– which I hope they do!).

“This Fucking Clock Won’t Stop Ticking” had me in a bit of a trance, but I was quickly snapped out of it as “I’m You In A Box.” Although the beat of this song was familiar and nothing too crazy, something super unique was happening within the beat. I couldn’t tell if it was the patterns of the layers and how they hit at different times when they all came in, or if it was more just the tones I was hearing, but I was instantly intrigued by this nearly four-minute-long song. I was a bit surprised when the vocals came in and felt a bit clearer than the previous tracks. I liked this contrast —a complicated and blurry instrumentation matched with crisp and clear vocals —it’s definitely not something I had on my Bingo card, given the previous tracks.

Another thing I didn’t have on my Bingo card when it came to ‘Dysphoria’ was the sound of church bells, but that’s how ‘Late Night Twitchy’ begins, and, honestly, remains. The church bells ring and create a gorgeous melody, while glitchy drums bring up the back end, creating a cacophony of sounds that is hard to sort through, but at the same time, so pleasant to hear. It’s chaotic but controlled chaos, and I love how, even with a seemingly chaotic layout, there’s something so beautiful about this track.

There was a lightness to “Late Night Twitchy” that I didn’t quite realize until “Stop Changing Things” took over. This song has a heaviness behind it that makes it feel like you somehow switched albums, not just songs. At least that’s how this track starts. As the song progresses, the heaviness felt at the beginning gives way to something closer to a love song than I think I’ve ever heard from this duo. I like how the mood in this song doesn’t stay the same forever. There are moments where you feel like you are falling into a standard love song (well, as standard as boredom & Romance can get), but then, in the blink of an eye, a more abstract song relating back to “1978” takes over. Just when you cozy into the idea of this being another super interesting extraterrestrial feeling track, they take you back to a guitar-guided love song. It’s a superb composition that definitely kept me on my toes and kept me guessing.

‘Dysphoria’ closes with “I Feel The Same As I Always Have,” and although I still had a lot of questions by the time this song ended, I liked how it seemed to bring you back through the atmosphere and land you back on Earth in a way. Another highly textured song, you get to see a little bit of all of the elements felt in all of the previous tracks. You get a sense of ambiance, a haunting effect to the vocals, and strong drums —you get it all as you are slowly eased back into reality.

Usually, this is where I put my synopsis of the album for you, but I have the honor of sharing a small quote from Jeremy Wilkins (of boredom & Romance). I feel like his words and his description of this record are so much better than anything I could have ever come up with:

“I have often felt very alone even when surrounded by people. Actually, usually more so when surrounded by people. I have rarely felt like myself around most people and the music I listen to is usually music that makes me feel more connected to myself and to the world and people. It’s strange, but I tend to feel more connected and empathetic towards human beings in the abstract rather than the concrete, real, people immediately in my life. Or I did. Therapy and recent life changes have really helped me overcome that.

I didn’t actually write these songs until after a good bit of therapy that helped me not actively feel the dysphoria daily. I feel like I can look at past events or emotions more clearly now.

I think that’s what this record is – a reminder that you can feel all these horrible things that I feel and think the horrible things that I’ve thought and still get better and find happiness.”

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