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| "{in-boxes} is an art/music collective whose music is an eclectic fusion
of minimal score-like songs & sound art with conceptual lyrics &
soaring vocals." Find them at facebook.com/inboxes139. |
There are few people in my life I've met that are intrinsically complex
to the point where even their creations fully engage my mind and heart. I can say from knowing him personally, that the frontman of
{in-boxes}
Daniel Elijah Novem is one of these people, and his project's music is
one of those creations. The music of {in-boxes} is known for the depth
of its content, layers of abstract sounds, and the extent of
thoughtfulness and passion put into its production. As with A LOVE
Between Frequency & Time,
Corner #1: An Apiary for a Swarm of One
(The Honey-Be[e] S[t]ung Sessions) is amazingly more intricate than the
listener may ever know.
Each song has a distinct flavor, yet are unified in several ways. The
album collectively embodies the characteristic mix of digital and
analog/organic sounds that
{in-boxes}
loves. All tracks are filled to the brim with themes of adoration,
regret, longing, and sewn together with detailed, sensual memories. In
fact, even this record and the previous are made cohesive by sharing
parts of the same story. Part of what makes this story engaging and
unforgettable is the fact that on top of beautiful, frank songwriting,
the sounds that compose these songs say things that words cannot. After
listening to the record multiple times, one realizes that there are no
weak tracks on this record; each song is unique and part of the greater
memoir. Structurally, the nine tracks on this album are cleaner and relatively
more concise than those of
A LOVE Between Frequency & Time. About
half of the tracks, however, include a transitional musical interlude
between each other. The elaborate ambient compositions that occupied the
prior EP are still here! Thus, I hope that the following review of each
track is a pleasure to read, as it was a pleasure for me to write.
1.
Year of the Analogirl: A fitting opening track, it offers an
introduction of the archetype character in Novem's story, a girl who has
an uncanny ability to captivate, stimulate and manipulate. The song is a
retrospective warning to himself, brooding and stylistically heavy
compared to the rest of the album. Instruments begin on top of each
other one by one to build suspense for the turn of the knob to a static-
filled, energetic instrumental. It also possesses a catchy hook with
hand clapping, and plenty of musical terminology and innuendos that
hearken back to A LOVE Between Frequency & Time.
2.
Siren in the Wishing Well: The story then transitions into a slow,
mysterious, mystical tale. It sounds as if you are underwater, in an
abyss, or a sewer or cave. You can be transported anywhere. This really
is a sublime song with pristine and pure lyrics. Even the dripping
sounds and clicks of falling coins present add to the narrative. The
motif of the siren is here linked to 'pagan waves', beginning to
describe the fundamental schism between the narrator and his love
interest: one is a Christian, a man of faith and grace; while the siren
is, frankly, a mystifying pagan. The narrator longs achingly for
redemption, and maybe even to be broken by the siren's spell.
3.
Wall-In My Heart: Aurally, this track is reminiscent of Spanish or
French guitar ballads, the kind of music you listen to when lounging at
an outdoor cafe in a foreign European town with cobblestone streets and
overgrown vines. It tells of specific details of a love affair (which
are heavily linked to the song “Jupiter”, keep in mind), locales and
events that one holds in the heart long after, like a puzzle piece in
the greater story. These emotional milestones have built up to become an
inescapable wall over which our narrator cannot overcome, though he
realizes up until now he has been seeing the relationship
unrealistically. The song goes through pensive bumbling ballads and
peaceful passages, then builds up toward the end with passionate use of
percussion and trumpets, before all instruments cease to heed the
narrator warning us from breaking this beloved wall, pleads us not to.
(The fact that the term is actually "Wall-In" probably refers to a box,
which brings us back to the project's name, etc...)
4.
A Bob Dylan Kind of Girl: Personally my favorite track off the
album (along with #7), though this is one of the slowest songs. (The
fact that this is an ode to Bob Dylan doesn't affect my judgment at
all.) A piano-based song, the melody is hauntingly beautiful,
deliberate, ancient and visceral. It echoes through the caverns of a
lonely desolate heart. Along with the metronome, a faint beat persists
in the background and it personally reminds me of a locomotive train.
The steady, soft use of voice in this song complements the instruments
and mood well. Novem's voice creaks like an old door never opened, and
releases like the cold breath of a ghost still in the room. The two
biblical references may be familiar to listeners, and are effectively
utilized as metaphors for elements of the love affair in question. As
the son of man was never certain of where he would sleep at night, so
the narrator was never secure in this girl's love for him. As Delilah
stole strength from Samson for her own pleasure, so this girl seduced
and stole emotional energy, and erased all traces of the narrator from
her mind. The song lingers with gentle guitarwork and piano reminiscent
of chords used by major pop and rock figures of the 60s era (Beatles,
Rolling Stones, Bobby D, etc.).
5.
A Song for Songs: You've got to love the Death Cab for Cutie
reference and influence; Novem even sounds like Ben Gibbard as he sings
on this track. Romantic and sophisticated, airy yet heavy, with dainty
percussion throughout, this song recounts the experience of lovers
swapping music together, an intimate bridge of trust. In this act, the
dilemma which is the crux of the album's overarching story manifests.
The girl he has fallen in love with, does not share the love he has for
his Savior, his first Love. This creates the misalignment in their
affair's paradigm. Harmonica, piano, and flute are used very poignantly;
the entire song is lighthearted yet melancholy. Also featured is a
flamboyant emulation of Sufjan Steven's aesthetic within the third
verse. I'd be surprised if you don't end up singing (or clapping) along
to "One mind on the way now" during the elegantly catchy chorus.
6.
Cross-Pollinate: Along with "Year of the Analogirl", this is a
track that may spur you to dance to the kick and guitar twang. (It did
spur me.) The analogy of a bird and a bee is explored in depth; two
beings that are basically very different, another reference to the stark
difference between the natures of the partners. It is disclosed that
this honeybee catered to our narrator's emotional and physical desires,
yet did not give him what was best for him. In rhythm and
instrumentality, this song is akin to "Cold War[M]" from the previous
EP. Aurally it is like a prelude to the "Sea-Sickness Epilogue" that
follows. Certain synth sounds and notes are introduced in this track
which take over the later tracks. General foreshadowing and reference to
other songs within the album are frequent on this record.
7.
Pagan Wave (Misc. Sea-Sickness Epilogue): This song starts off
sounding like what falling in love sounds like. It is leisurely, elegant
and warm, like a stroll down the aforementioned foreign neighborhood,
or a tranquil sunset on the sea after a storm. The trumpets and violins
on this track are perfectly romantic and nostalgic. Halfway through the
tides turn into a buildup of emotional tumult and a slightly out-of-sync
orchestra, as our narrator cries of the fight in his heart, divided
between two contradicting loves. Seasickness seems to symbolize a
combination of being in love and feeling guilty and full of doubt
(guilty of feeling so passionately toward someone that his God would not
want him to be with, and doubt about whether this is right, wrong,
meant to be, or even doubting God's intentions). As he says himself,
"Denial is the truth I seek, instead of You or her or me." At the
closing of this track, strained and weary, Novem sings, "And I still
hear you buzzing in this beekeeper's apiary of a heart, and it sounds
like this..." Then there is a pause, and in come the most heartbroken,
remorseful string instruments you may ever hear. I may have cried more
than once upon hearing this part.
8.
Jupiter: Includes an endearing reference to Florida's unbelievably
humid heat. Also a keyboard- based composition, this song features
whirring, space-age sounds and swelling orchestral violins. It is
triumphant and whimsical, with soaring, ethereal falsetto vocals, taking
the listener away by space travel, counteracted by the staccato
percussion’s rhythm. These lyrics transform South Florida’s suburbia
into a previously unknown heavenly body, perhaps because the memory of
the narrator's love interest feels like heaven on earth. The song is
composed of chimes and keys suspended in space and time, continuing the
idea of memories of one's love. Like an anthem, Novem sings “You’re on
my mind” repeatedly to the pounding of the drum until it halts, and his
tortured words fade into an echo.
9.
Black Synechdoch[k]eys: From "Jupiter", we now plummet from miles
above the atmosphere deep into the depths of an ocean of sound, the last
stop on the album. Through this piano song the listener freefalls
slowly as electronic twitters trail behind. Melodies and keys shift and
move up and down smoothly, as emotions and memories do. This minimal yet
forlorn final track tells of the aftermath of the love affair. After
being used without being loved in return, the narrator is left deficient
and hollow, only an aspect of who he was. Quite a beautiful final
track. It also touches on healing, yet it is unclear as to whether
healing did come and for whom. It is implied that our narrator was hurt
before he met this love of his, as she was previously hurt also. The
album concludes gently with haunting ambience.
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| Nook & Cranny #1: A LOVE
Between Frequency & Time |
Now it is evident that {in-boxes}'s releases thus far - and those that
may come after from Novem - are linked conceptually by certain motifs.
The most prominent shared are those of the siren, seasickness, horizon
line, and (pagan) waves, mostly found in "Cold War(M)". Also mentioned
in the monologue at the beginning of A Love Between Frequency & Time
are many of the symbols found throughout Apiary, such as the
digital/analog juxtaposition, Delilah and Samson, the bee, and the plumb
line.
I won't say anymore, the reader gets to listen and connect everything
now! In this oeuvre, Novem's own mind is his greatest instrument. The
most understated part of the music of
{in-boxes},
however, is that Novem depicts his God as a gracious and creative
healer within the story. The fact that his relationship with God is so
entwined with his emotions regarding the honeybee of his music is also
displayed. To my previous accolade, he would even say, for God’s glory.
So if not for anything but the sheer sincerity and creative aptitude,
this is a record worth buying, and listening to repeatedly, and painting
pictures within your own imagination.
This review is also published on soirzine.com.
