Effusion by Sweet Freeze
From the offset ‘Effusion’ by Sweet Freeze gives you a sense of isolation. With it’s metallic sounding spaces, it’s thin synthetic strings and the 3 or 4 not guitar motifs. The vocals sound intimate yet jarring without sounding obtuse. It’s a personal recording dripping with an honesty that hits you in the heart.
It’s lo-fi and experimental and almost feels improvised but still maintains a sense of purpose. You are drawn into a world that maybe unfamiliar but still has it roots in humanity. It’s a very human album despite the intentional glitches and stark recordings.
The melancholy lives alongside a truthfulness and a beauty that possibly needs a second listen to understand or feel the way it was intended although it doesn’t feel planned or contrived. It’s a pure, raw and emotional journey.
Listen to it in it’s entirety and let yourself go with it. You will be rewarded.
In her own words, Kate Sattler’s “Effusion” is an album about leaving fear behind and to live life to it’s fullest. I would say that it achieved just that. Kate utilizes short and catchy melodies in a repetitive pattern and her bright, gentle voice in combination with sometimes abrasive sounds to create a sense of urgency and movement. In “Seedling” it’s a shaker and bass-drum, driving the track with an unexpected pace; in “Lullaby” a metronome is used for the same purpose as are Kate’s quick and distorted vocals in “Beware”. It is this drive that makes the entire album feel alive and constantly moving, a sensation that I find makes for a gripping listening experience. Adding hypnotically beautiful melodies and haunting vocals elevates the songs on this album further; providing a rather intimate feeling. Overall, this is an album I can highly recommend to everyone that is willing to get taken on a journey.
My favorite song on the album is the very hypnotic “Sleep Cycle.”
Listeners will find affecting melodies and textures, soft vocals, and languid, meditative patterns. Beauty and blemishes. As always, everything is intimately recorded on my 8-track.
While my previous release explored trauma and healing, Effusion is a step towards the light — seeking to live less fearfully even if it begets surprises or breaks precious things.
With lupus, the sac around my heart can become inflamed. Fluids build up (effusion). My body turns against itself, aggressively trying to heal organs like the heart that aren’t broken, but simply alive.
Perhaps more “bedridden” than “bedroom” tape, Effusion also reflects the increased physical and cognitive limits I face from lupus.
Previously…
The Nirvana Fallacy (or, Mania and Her Sophomore Slump) – Saint Louie
- #FeatureFriday WIENER DEMEANOR by Cheer Captain
- #FeatureFriday – Effusion by Sweet Freeze
- Beginings Revisted by Jim France
- Recording in Progress by Aaron Smith
- Believer, a.k.a. The Last Shall Be the First
- Scrapyard Boyz: Ultra Despair Duo – Grizzly, Slogan
- The Nirvana Fallacy (or, Mania and Her Sophomore Slump) – Saint Louie
- The Cocker Spaniels Are Still Alive, And So Are You
- X by Everything’s a Crime
- Take to The Streets by Eparapo
- Ashenheart – Faded Gold
- Underground by Trina Chakrabarti
- Happy New Year #Feature Friday
- Adrift by Angry Blue Planet
- Hells Bells – Dallas Orbiter’s Spaceman Things
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