EP REVIEW: WERWE ‘SPEED OF LIGHT’
Referencing without it sounding forced and out of place itself is an art that many thrive to master. Tapping into remembrance and recreating something meaningful and in the present make up the essence of Speed of Light by Werwe. A genuine, heartfelt collection of songs that would trigger memories from those dusted corners while remaining in conversation with the modern world of sound.
Hypnotic, surreal, and dreamful, yet each and every song tells a story with different colors. Diving deep into the underworld and finding its way back, the album is a journey of fire and ice. Inspired by the artist’s journey of overcoming fear projected by the last generation, the album opener, “Otherside” pulls you into a distant, surreal, dream pop soundscape with new wave influences, resonating with the natural process of independence. Revolving around a dark, evocative bass groove with blazing 80s references, the title track “Speed of Light” revealed a contemporary approach in its transition.
The intensified “House” has a minimalistic approach to its haunting lyricism, reflecting the way our birth family influence us every step of the way. Buzzing emotional power with raging distortion, a distant scream blends into its vague, burning background. “Heaven” stars into a dancing fire, introspective. High strings up in the air with short captivating bass pattern underneath an intimate yet emotionally distant vocal line. A steady, minimal, walking drumbeat carries out the motion forward.
“Gasoline” has an out-of-the-world bizarreness in its melody filled with minors, resolved in a reverberant, ghost-like chorus “I won’t scream.” A Red Hot Chili Pepper guitar plucking sounded like something but couldn’t ring a bell. Then we arrive by the warm, campfire with “Summer Lady” firing through a subwoofer, submerged into a spiritual, resonating world of “Livin Easy” with love and peace.
Written by Katrina Yang
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