#all things being equal

[havesexwithghosts]

Sonic Boom - Spinning Coins and Wishing on Clovers

This is one of my favorite songs from the past couple years. I listen to it when I sense the weight of an impending, consequential decision that needs making and want to space out while deeply feeling that weight and casting it off simultaneously. When I here it, I imagine the coils of a huge multi-colored serpent embracing me and slowly, almost imperceptibly, winding its knot around me--basically finding power in abandoning myself to a threat. Spacemen 3 are one of my top bands ever; and although I never really connected to Spiritualized (not yet anyway), I love most of what Peter Kember has done as Sonic Boom and Spectrum and also his production work. (I’m not a major fan of Beach House or Panda Bear but their records that he worked on are amazing.) This song reminds of Coil in the combination of psychedelic synths and low-spoken vocals but it is ultimately totally Kember’s work; there’s so much whimsy in the darkness. I think this record is way underrated and this is definitely the best, weirdest song on it. 

[nicollekidman]

is it weird that i read m* and was fine with it but i just can't even get through the first few chapters of the a*? not for any of the triggering reasons but because i can't stand the emphasis on the (imo) retconned idea that she's been pining for him all through school :/ like tbh i can handle a lot when it's about the horrific aftermath of a war & people being thrown together & learning to survive, but somehow draw the line at long descriptions of the amortentia in year 6 smelling like him

SCREAM i definitely read that more as d* had been pining and h* had had a crush but then buried it bc other things were going on but it’s a really popular trope in that fandom that they had feelings or secretly were together around the hbp timeline which… i don’t mind if it’s done well. in the a* that would only have been like a year which makes sense to me from her side especially considering how much space in canon is taking up by h*rry obsessing over him, but i also definitely agree with you in general and if the emphasis is too heavy on that or it’s played as something sweet i immediately stop reading. it worked for me in this context but i totally get it!!! it’s a fine line to not be a total eye roll and ruin any sort of plausibility

[saucylittlesmile]

Interdependence.

[jazznoisehere]

Sonic Boom: All Things Being Equal (Carpark Records, 2020)

Artwork by Marco Papiro

[themasterpupil]

Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal…

[phdmama]

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[1day1coverart]

+ artist : Sonic Boom + title : All Things Being Equal (2020) + artwork : Marco Papiro + cover concept : Marco Papiro, sonic boom

[theeverlastingshade]

Last week Sonic Boom released his second solo LP, All things Being Equal, and it’s another satisfying full-length that doesn’t find Peter Kember veering from his burbling, electronic psychedelic sweet spot so much as it finds him embracing it for an apt career survey, and an ideal entry point into his kaleidoscopic world. Highlight “Just a Little Piece of Me” featuring longtime collaborator, Panda Bear, is a sublime slice of psychedelic synth pop that gets a ridiculous level of mileage over a bright bed of queasy synth blips, a ticking hi-hat rhythm, and those heavenly harmonies of Panda’s that lend a little extra potency to Kember’s own vocals. The lyrics center around Kember’s desire to remind listeners of the connection that humans have with plants “Bury me/Beneath a tree/Let its roots/Grow into me/Let it grow/And you will see/Just a little piece of me”, and the sparse phrasing imbues the sentiments succinctly while allowing the pair to really let their vocals soar.

Given the sonic parameters, structure of the compositions, emphasis on melody and repetition, and penchant for exquisitely rendered textures, ATBE almost sounds like the minimal flip-side to Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper’s maximalist, after-life psych workouts, and the sparser nature of these songs allows the melodies to really land as they continue to develop. The mixes are sparse, but busy, and there's plenty of fine detail tucked into the ensuing synth work. While you can hear traces of Beach House and MGMT, along with Panda Bear, throughout the course of ATBE, it’s still evident that all of those acts are indebted to Spaceman 3, and that back and forth stylistic conversation between ATBE and the records of theirs that he produced prove that Kember still has his ear to the ground even while his head remains in the clouds. Three decades after the dissolution of Spaceman 3, and Kember is still finding compelling new directions for his bare-boned, drone-laden dreams.