The Silver Swans in Wonder Woman lore are capable of "devastating a small area of land" with their voice. And while Ann Yu’s voice is undeniably the driving force behind LoveLikeFire, the combination of her and Jon Waters in their sophomore effort Forever does their name a disservice. They released Forever themselves last Tuesday, two years after unveiling their promising debut (Realize the Ghost) on Tricycle Records. While diehard fans of dream pop and LoveLikeFire will enjoy this album, that’s about it. I certainly would not use it as an example of the genre for anyone unfamiliar with the clubby-yet-half-asleep sound.
Music—more than any other art—relies on contrast. Within the subdued style Silver Swans pursue, producing contrast becomes all the more difficult and important. School of Seven Bells are masters of this creation of rising action and climax within the context of the restrained atmosphere dream pop requires. Certainly Silver Swans had no problem with it on their debut—especially the first track, "Are You Really On My Side."
It’s hard to tell what specific element of their sound on Forever kills this pursuit of contrast. Certainly the ever-present and nearly unchanging heavy reverb (a friend has dubbed it 'caveverb') on Yu’s vocals gives her a feeling of permanent distance, and since her voice is the feature instrument that aural perception of distance turns into an emotional one towards her singing in particular and the music as a whole by proxy. The overwhelming presence of the bass drum, particularly on "Secrets," "Diary Land" and "Mother of Pearl," attempts to break the dream-state of the album; it’s incongruity could be an asset if the lethargy of the other sounds would acquiesce to its insistence to break out of the dream (which they have done really well in the past). Instead, it leaves me scratching my head when the beat on those songs permeates through every wall in my house.
The bright spots make this effort all the more frustrating. Nearly every song demonstrates the duo’s incredible ability at crafting catchy hooks—perhaps the one thing in pop more sought-after than contrast, which is why I appear to be in the minority with my assessment of the album. Yet the hooks become vacuous with zero emotional connection to the song, and there is nothing inherent to the music on this album that will foster such a connection. Unless you enter rapture at the thought of hearing Yu sing or believe that dream pop is the sound your soul would make if you could hear it, steer clear of Forever.
Tracklist
1. House Of Blood
2. Secrets
3. Let It Happen
4. Diary Land
5. Actual Pain
6. Arrows
7. Around You
8. Karen
9. Always Something
10. Mother Of Pearl
11. On The Quiet
