Some Distant Memory – “Splash Around”
Some Distant Memory – “Splash Around” – Single Review
Holy have we ever been jumping around on the timeline throughout these pages of ours lately! We’re taking you back to 2017 with this one…remember how different the world was back then? Seems like it was a whole lifetime ago at this point…or at the very least…wait for it…Some Distant Memory. Boom!
I’ve been touring through this record called Archetype…which is a fairly tough album to love overall, but that’s not news to Nors, the dude responsible for the strange noises you’re hearing. You don’t go into making music this far out on the fringe of what people listen to, even in the Lo-Fi realm, without having a very good idea of what the general reaction would be. Ultimately, while I listen to just about everything under the sun in some capacity, I’m no different than most…my taste in music might be a bit more widespread than a few of ya out there, but we’re probably not as far apart as you might assume. So to listen to Archetype from start to finish, was about as challenging as Nors would have wanted it to be – the bizarre creativity you’ll hear is completely by design, and when you live by that sword, you can die by it too. While there’s a tangible Electro element that would help establish a connection to a few of you listeners out there I’m sure, largely, Some Distant Memory ain’t making music for the masses I assure you. Again – I’m not telling Nors anything he wouldn’t already know by saying that, and I don’t spend my time needlessly pumping tires in the reviews I write. The art and craft of music really comes down to doing whatever makes YOU happy – and if other people happen to like it, then that’s a bonus.
Anyhow! “Splash Around” is a decent conclusion to this record, so I figured I’d dive into that one a bit for ya. You’ll find some points of fairly ‘normal’-ish Electro in the mix for ya…some parts that seem a lot like what you’d imagine aliens would create in their first attempts at making music…and a structure that’s more or less proudly built on a sonic strangeness that would be completely foreign to most. Me? Nah…I’m not afraid of it, odd as it may be. You seven regular readers on this page know that I used to tell folks I listened to music that sounded like a broken answering machine for about a decade straight, so don’t get it twisted, there’s a lot about this kind of unpredictable project that I certainly appreciate. Like I was tellin’ ya earlier…it’s really about what Nors likes and what he wants to get out of his music on a personal level. Am I supposed to tell him to reign it all in? Dial back the weirdness and the wildness? What would be the point in suggesting ANY of that? He’s not making music intended for the mainstream y’all.
“Splash Around” is about as good as any tune on Archetype is at the end of the day, fairly representative of the album overall…and heck, it might even be a bit more accessible than most, at least in parts of it. It starts with a fairly reliable rhythm and groove before it descends further into madness around the transition ninety-seconds in. Then you get Some Distant Memory doing its level best to distort the reality you know and warp your mind through music…deal with it. Or don’t. I feel like Nors sleeps exactly the same way every night regardless of how you or I might feel about his music and art. If you dig it, there’s plenty of room on his bandwagon for you to find a seat I’m sure…and if ya don’t, then kindly move yourself along back to the Top 40 section.
He already knows what the deal is. Most aren’t gonna get what Some Distant Memory is all about, and that’s just the way it is. For the rest of you weirdo out there that like something about as far off the beaten path as you can imagine, buy the ticket, take the ride. If you dig the strange side of sound, then there is definitely something here for ya in the mix…come “Splash Around” if you do, the water’s warm.
Find out more about Some Distant Memory from the official page at Apple Music right here: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/some-distant-memory/1218042427
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