People Who Aren’t Here Anymore. The title announces it, it is an album of nostalgia and the mourning of the relationships that we lose. It is also, at the same time, a cry of love, which the leader of the Baltimore team, Samuel T. Herring, allows himself to express even if we understand that the relationship he is talking about is no longer. Returning to the United States after a separation from his Swedish partner, while bassist and guitarist Wiliam Cashion was going through a divorce at the same time, Herring channeled excitement, disappointment, devastation and the beginning of a life into his lyrics. healing.
The sonic atmosphere is vast, always led by the synthesizers, which are sometimes exhilarating (fabulous Corner of My Eyeour favorite), sometimes undulating (the opening piece, King of SwedenOr The Thief).
Here we witness the demonstration of the know-how of the group, which is on its seventh album, but does not seem to be running out of steam. People Who Aren’t Here Anymore makes no mistakes, it is constant and solid, pleasant from start to finish, garnished here and there with particularly impactful moments of music.
This constancy could be criticized for having an aftertaste of monotony. The formula takes on different flavors, but the proposal effectively remains a continuation of the same recipe.
Herring’s band is, however, made up of talented musicians, who deliver a musically impeccable object, where the synth and organic instruments come together and form lovely amalgamations. Between the ballads and more upbeat songs, Samuel T. Herring’s unique and textured voice elevates each song.
But it is his pen that we remember, above all. Sometimes very candid, other times pessimistic, she poetically depicts the beauty of a relationship that seems to make one invincible and the disillusionment of realizing that one is ultimately always vulnerable to heartache.
Extract of Corner of my Eye
Synthpop
People Who Aren’t Here Anymore
Future Islands
4AD