Aarktica - ...Or You Could Just Go Through Your Whole Life And Be Happy Anyway (Bliss Out v. 18)
(Darla)
Aarktica first two main releases, No Solace In Sleep and the Morning One EP, were both amazing soundscape records filled with layers of e-bowed and delayed guitar, harmonium, glockenspiel, and other instruments, carefully orchestrated into fairly amorphous, thick, beautiful swirls and walls of sound. So when I found out that Aarktica, AKA Jon DeRosa (also of Flare and The Dead Leaves Rising), was recording a Bliss Out for Darla Records, I couldn't wait to see how much tryypier he could get.
For those unfamiliar with Darla's Bliss Out series, it is generally viewed as an opportunity for bands to "bliss out" their traditional songwriting style and release something that is less focused on the structure and more focused on the atmosphere of songs. However, on Volume 18 of the series, DeRosa has turned the tables, using the series to release his most structured and songy release to date.
On ...Or You Could Just Go Through Your Whole Life And Be Happy Anyway, DeRosa has taken elements from his first two releases and combined them with more solid and sometimes traditional songwriting structures, to both positive and negative effects.
"Aura Lee," the first song on the album, is a great example of his songwriting working positively. It is a wonderfully lush, shoegazey pop song that will definitely appeal to fans of Mahogany (and actually features the beautiful vocals of Lorraine Lelis of Mahogany), Slowdive, and Auburn Lull. While it shares some attributes with the aforementioned bands, DeRosa manages to keep the sound fresh and uniquely his own. "A Correspondence in Film" is another great song on the album complimented by a more traditional structure. Using delayed and ebowed guitar, and many other sources, DeRosa creates melodies within the flowing sounds that are as easy to follow along with as they are to drift away on.
"You're Landlocked, My Love" is probably the most noteworthy, though sadly not the only, example of his change or experimenting working to negative effect. Using pummeling beats, bouncing back and forth between speakers, and a monotonous single note drone, DeRosa manages to bore and annoy me within a matter of seconds. And if that wasn't bad enough, the heavily processed vocal melody he sings slightly resembles a more monotonous version of the Christmas song that the Whos down in Whoville sing at the end of The Grinch That Stole Christmas.
Not all the songs on ...Or You Could Just Go Through Your Whole Life And Be Happy Anyway are completely different from his previous releases, though. "Happy Anyway" and "The Hook, The Reel, and The Pull" are wonderfully ambient soundscapes that don't fall too far from his previous releases while still expanding his sound.
Though I didn't enjoy where some of his experimentation with different song structures took him, DeRosa should be commended for trying to grow as a songwriter and musician, and I am looking forward to future Aarktica releases, perfecting the balance between soundscape and song.
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