Music Analysis #2 - slenderbodies (anemone)
Slenderbodies is an indie artist duo that originated in California, with the pair apparently obsessed with singing in falsetto. I've chosen the song "anemone" because it often has something that I really relate to, the calmness and quietness of being alone. Little history lesson, about myself so if you're looking to read about the song, skip to the next paragraph. I first listened to this song while I was at work, stressing out because a long line of people came into the store and it was packed with people. Some other songs were playing and just as the last customer left and I let out a long sigh, this song came on. I wondered why it was so quiet so I turned it up and started listening. Unfortunately I had a terrible speaker and could not for the life of me hear the lyrics, and when I got home I began to listen to it, the long drawn phrases and the chorus pulled me into the song and when I started noticing the lyrics, I fell in love with the song.
Here's the song while you read: (25) slenderbodies - anemone [audio] - YouTube
The creators (Max Vehuni and Benji Cormack) started their music career in 2016 with the album Sotto Voce. <Cited #1> The duo met in college and during some circumstances, they would work together on whatever work that they had going and eventually started to bond together over music. When making the first album, they set two parameters for what their band would be known for. 1: Falsetto vocals and 2: Guitars as the main instruments being played. <Cited #2>
The song anemone was released in 2017 under their "Fabulist" album. With the band's parameter's for their music, the song has a soft dynamic, with what I can tell is either in 4/4(or in 6/8 but I believe it is 4/4). The supporting melody fits well in the 4/4 but the phrases and lyric's sung are hard to put into any of the common meters. There are some quick, short phrases while others are longer and harder to put into the meters. If the phrases could be put into a meter system, it would be different than the instrument melody, which would make it a polyrhythm. There are also some parts of the song where the note's and the phrases clash and make it seem like the song is done in a polyphonic texture and then there's another part where it seems to have the instrumental melody supporting the vocalist into a homophonic texture.
The Beat and Tempo is pretty constant through the song, with the only change from the verse(2) to the chorus. Or from the chorus to the bridge. Where the verse's beat is slightly slower than the chorus and then that chorus slows into the bridge before kicking back up into the song's original tempo.
The timbre of the song, if I had to put a clear color on this song, orange comes to mind. But there is a lot of mixing in the song that makes the artist, with their falsetto voice, seem to speak in cursive(I got that idea from one of the comments in the video). The two main instruments are a sort of percussion instrument and the guitar and the difference of the two is easily heard.
Not sure what else to say other than I really like this song, it's what I usually listen to whenever I want to sleep. Chilled out perfectly for me.
Cited:
#1 Slenderbodies Biography, Songs, & Albums | AllMusic
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this song but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it! It was very relaxing and had a captivating beat. I like your color description of the timbre. It gives very orange vibes and maybe even some light blue:) As u mentioned, the falsetto used throughout the song is what intrigued me the most. Their unique vocals, dynamics, and accompanying instruments reminds me of the group "alt-j". They also like to utilize fun vocal styles and complex meters. I recommend listening to them if you haven't already:)