A few months ago somebody on the internet, with apparently nothing better to do, decided to slow down Justin Bieber's “U Smile” by over 800%. The once 4 minute pop song was now a 35 minute ambient “epic”. So incredible was this creation that Canadian news outlets even reported it. Seriously.
If there's anything that can be discovered from this creation, it's that people generally love slowed down music with feminine vocals. Julianna Barwick's The Magic Place reminds me of Bieber's hidden ambient talent. The album on a whole is a hybrid of dream pop and drone. Barwick's “oooohs”, “aaaaahs”, “waaaays” and occasionally “heeeeeyyyys” are all complimented by large amounts of reverb caked into the mix. Her voice isn't strong, but the multiple, well-timed layers work wonders over almost quiet instrumentation.
Herein lies the problem with The Magic Place: outside of it's choral beauty remains a relatively empty album. Yeah, Barwick's voice is gorgeous, and these songs are pretty, but The Magic Place lethargically unwraps itself to be both beautiful and unsurprising. It's a weird mix, one that isn't completely satisfactory or ultimately terrible. It softly dances, bounding from song to song almost like a dream. You want to live there, possibly for the rest of your life, but by the dream's end you forget everything. Ironically, Bieber's slowed down “U Smile” is almost more impressive than this entire album. The result is mostly the same, something that's temporarily memorizing but ultimately forgettable.
2.5/5
Recommended Tracks: "Prizewinning", "Flown"
No comments:
Post a Comment