Your Other Half’s Latest Single “Personality” Will Have You Smiling
Feature
Photo credit: Ryan Calavano
Luscious and radiant; “Personality” blossoms in blue. Embraced with each artist’s unique musicianship and personality, the track consists of vibrant, kaleidoscopic sound palettes that contrast yet is naturally in harmony. Adapting a unique, vibrant symbol of a blue rose, the sophomore release from YOH contains an affirming message that unites and encourages compassion. YOH, aka, Your Other Half, is a collective identity of Evan Greer, Woody Aplanalp, and Anton Soder. They aim to spread love, promote social change, and make a global impact through music-making and electric live performance.
Evan Greer has electricity in his voice that immediately gives you goosebumps. His vocal style always gives you a little more to grasp on in the slight shift of tones and articulations. He adds a layer of sonic-visual effects to the overall aesthetic. The chemistry between his and Ali Blake’s voice creates a floral texture with a speck of fuzzy swirl that mirrors the blossoming image throughout the song.
The versatile track introduces multi-faceted storytelling with well-sought details that tastefully weave sophistication and contemplation into highly relatable lyricism and sonic texture. A swirling, luscious airy soundscape has a tender, expressive side that slightly shifts its mood throughout the track. Between an oozing drum beat and reverberant percussion in the background, a subtle electrified fuzziness underneath Evan Greer’s vocal charm and poise.
“Personality” adapts a form of simple yet powerful lyricism that manages to add depth and perspectives into the cornerstone four lines of the chorus. The song opens with a hint of melancholy and blue as the lyrics open up vulnerability about rejection and hurt. “If you can tolerate my personality, you’ll see the love coming out of me. my soul in the nude, I’m so beautiful.” While in the second comeback, they immediately introduce a more positive and empowering mindset and advocate people to look beyond the obvious through a cleverly flipping of subjects: “If I could tolerate your personality, look underneath and see your majesty, your soul in the nude, you’re so beautiful.”
“I think people would love each other more if we could learn to see past the ‘masks’ we all wear to protect ourselves. Personalities have a hard time matching sometimes, but I think most people have good intentions.” Greer shared some insight on the inspiration and message behind “Personality.”
Besides the haunting melody that seems to linger in your head forever and the blue aesthetic that brings a special feeling to the track, the outro is another highlight. Amazed by the chemistry and goofy vibe around the four, the outro is a concentrated drop of joy and happiness that has the magical power to uplift any gloominess. Behind the scene, both Anton Soder and Woody Aplanalp mentioned the special moment they had while recording. “That was a big AWW YEAH moment!” said Aplanalp.
All three members of the band were connected through their working experiences with Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc. “Personality” was released via Blacc Label Entertainment. Aloe Blacc saw YOH’s undeniable potential and work ethic after working with them on a couple of songs and his latest release All Night Long, which YOH produced. “Your Other Half takes a demo and can read the sonic vision so easily for a song so raw, and can also take direction to a point. This team has created a phenomenal catalog of songs that I look forward to the world receiving,” said Blacc.
SINGLE REVIEW: HEATHER NATION “FLOWER”
Discovery
Photo credit: Taylor Bartram
“Flower” gives you an ethereal, immersive experience that immediately draws you into its flourishing world. Ravishing, radiating soundscape has a speck of nostalgia and warmth into its sound that thrives to stretch through time and space. Heather Nation’s entrancing vocal is addicting and mesmerizing where she freely explores the world with her voice with confidence and comfort, embracing her entire being. Captivating melodies continue the slow dance that blossoms in empowerment.
“Flower” is a sound poetry that touches on self-love, resiliency, and balance. Nation explores a freer song form that is unbound to any definition or genre in which she encourages, nourishes, and supports individual artistry where the creative ideas and influences from each member interact with another in a resonating, authentic way.
Based in San Diego, Heather Nation is an official NAMM artist who has performed at the Anaheim Convention and has opened for internationally known touring artists. Her sultry voice that has absorbed inspirations and influences from all over the place always has a twist of surprise, while her songwriting connects and taps deeper into the creative realm.
SINGLE REVIEW: A.B. VIOLET “THESE OTHER THINGS”
Staff Pick
“These Other Things” gives an insight into a toxic mental state where one is constantly in the loop of doubt, argument, and obsession. A.b. Violet surprises you with her creativity that captures this translucent state so vividly without pinning down to explicitily vulnerable experience, which makes the track so easily to resonate with listeners.
The song has a very impressionistic feel to its overall aesthetic that gives you an immsersive listening experience. Heavy, melancholy soundscape pulls you into direct confrontation with the tempting mentality. The artist’s voice and words is a unique instrument that serves as the inner thoughts and questions that one in constant fight with.
A.b. Violet offers you an insight where you can start to analyse doubts, obsessive thinking from its inside. It’s quite amazing what she manages to achieve with her music, and the way she contributes to mental health like no one else.
ANIMA “SELF-ANGER THEME (FT. PHEAL)”
Staff Pick
Photo credit: Valentin Folliet aka Odák
“Self-Anger Theme” is a unique experience that you simply can’t find elsewhere. Revolving around self-hatred and embracing the darkness within, Anima stretched beyond the further end of visions and imaginaries and created a world that didn’t previously exist from the ground up. It was simply shocking the way how different layers of sounds interact and merge into a multi-dimensional projection that continues to shift and move in time.
The violence of electronic music meets an angst-filled electrified, industrial texture that smashed into the aftermath of each drumbeat and on the tips and tails of vocal. An anthemic siren that shivers into your skin, while there’s a certain feel of hipness that puts you through a dark tunnel, glistening with black diamonds, glasses, and sands. “Self-Anger Theme” is hard to be pinned down to words, just as the way it was hard to be pinned down to genre or definition.
Born in a creative family, Matisse Roger lives to push the boundary of imaginations with genre-fluid, out-of-the-world aesthetics. He absorbs new ideas from different experiences where inspirations flow through and leave their marks. Dedicated to his craft and to developing new sounds, the artist has something exciting and unique for the listeners.
SINGLE REVIEW: ATEM S “Lift Off”
Discovery
"Dance through life like everybody's watching. Then tomorrow, do it all over again." Atem S on “Lift Off”
Photo credit: Adam Smetana
“Lift Off” is infectious. It gradually uplifts your mood in an unnoticed yet significant way. It gently lifts up the sky that was pressing on your shoulder and allows you to breathe again. Cheerful and spirited, humorous in its own way, it breaks you out from the digital world we all seem to live in back to the way life used to be.
Twirling vocals and euphoric synth-scape, a bouncy bass swoops into your ear like a free agent dancing in and out of the crowds. There’s a sprinkle of magic in Atem S’s voice. Reflecting on social media’s influence on our daily life and how much we seem to function around “liking” other’s people’s pictures/videos instead of living our own, “Lift Off” invites you to take a break and rewind. It’s time to write your own stories.
“Lift Off” is fascinating the way their influences and unique auditory outputs seem so well intertwined together. Atem S and By Phoxy Music bonded over the love for music through the internet. Intrigued by their distinct musical influences and backgrounds, the two joins hand to explore possibilities and step into new territories.
SINGLE REVIEW: fable “WILD UNKNOWN”
Discovery
Photo credit: Deb Leal (debleal.com)
“This song is the first of many. For the past few years I’ve been writing and writing, and I’m ready to rip the bandaid off and share my music. This first song has been my baby, and it perfectly mirrors the journey I’ve been on. These past two years have been the most difficult of my life. But I’ve found my sound, and the confidence I needed to leave the people who weren’t good for me,” said fable.
Bouncing on the edge of the forest and stepping into the “Wild Unknown,” fable combines the love of wilderness with the thrill and fear of a new relationship and brings to life a sexy, inspired electro-pop debut release “Wild Unknown.”
A new beginning is exciting, but stepping into the door towards the unknown also means a step further away from one’s comfort zone. No one knows where the road will lead, but unless we take the step forward, nothing will happen. It takes courage and determination to start anew and to trust again. “Wild Unknown” mirrors fable’s journey in life and music in many ways, which in turn transforms the thought process and her courageous, optimistic energy into sonic form. Inspired, empowered, and free.
Photo credit: Deb Leal (debleal.com)
Like the forest itself gradually unfolds before your eyes, “Wild Unknown” has that mysterious, attempting energy in its storytelling. Cold-mist soundscape and enlightened, bouncy texture, her feathery vocal echos in your eardrum. “Wild Unknown” is a song you could listen to forever.
Written by Katrina Yang
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SINGLE REVIEW: NINA “GOLD HEART”
Discovery
Photo credit: Yan Chi
Golden pedals and ethereal dreamscape. Bathing in the sunlight, floating above the soft clouds, NINA invites us to see the beauty of the world with “Gold Heart, “ co-written/produced by electro-rock artist Radio Wolf and songwriter Ricky Wilde. NINA channeled something pure and limitless with her voice, floating in the center of airy harp and harp.
"To me the song is about hope, bravery and believing in the good nature of others. When producing the track, I wanted it to feel like you're being kissed by the sun after braving the darkest of days." says NINA.
Like a firm flame that lights up in the dark, the dreamful love ballad tunes to the core power and the strongest believes. It brings out something powerful and encouraging within each one of us with its open-hearted intimacy.
Epic and moving, “Gold Heart” is a song you could easily dance to as well as appreciate like a fine wine. Sonically, it is filled with intriguing details that take you on a stimulating sonic journey. Like clouds, it appears to be in various shapes and colors that surprise you in awe.
Written by Katrina Yang
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