It is Wednesday! And you are subscribed to Reedstack. That is such a fantastic combination, and for that I’m glad you opened this email.
This week, I wanted to try to experiment with form once again. Instead of focusing on a song, I will be focusing on an album. Maybe this is even an album review if you would like to call it that (please take my critical thoughts with a grain of salt).
The album I am reviewing is called Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020) and it’s by Fred again..
Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020) is London electronic producer Fred again..’s debut album. Oddly, given its title, but this album consists of material from before the given time period, as well as –presumably– music from within it, the lead single (and first full track) Kyle (I Found You) releasing in 2019. Nearly every track here is built from unconventional samples of Fred’s friends, peers, or strangers. Kyle offers a slow start to the album, sampling spoken word artist Kyle Tran Myhre’s poem “Love in the Time of Undeath.” Fred brings in a mellow, UK bass snare and kick, centering the bittersweet spoken words of Myhre. With this first song, it is obvious that Fred has a fascination with language:
“In this smoking chaos / our shoulder blades kissed.”
Fred’s obsession with sampling spoken word reappears on the song Julia (Deep Diving) where musician Julia Michaels’ recorded thoughts are splayed onto a downtempo canvas that sounds melodically like Fred’s fellow London DJ friend, Jamie xx, and rhythmically akin to stateside microhouse heir Nicolas Jaar. His use of pitched vocals, juxtaposed against Michaels’ blunt confession of feeling, distorts her somewhat cheesy Instagrammable statement into something not only joyful, but necessary.
Actual Life’s strongest moment occurs on Me (Heavy) though, where Fred samples himself. With a tape loop that sounds like a sad robot slowly dragging its feet upstairs, Fred, over vulnerable lyrics, signifies a transition to a more tired, less hopeful side of the album. In doing so, he captures a feeling of emotional exhaustion that is particularly resonant given the collective loss and isolation experienced during the pandemic. This bleak, solitary landscape continues onto Sabrina (I Am A Party), a deep house cut framing mental hyperactivity and paranoia. “I am a party / Inside of my head /It's just not that much fun having / fun / When you don't wanna have fun.”
The more emotional second half of the album comes to a close with the final track December 17th 2020, which like the introduction, sounds recorded from Fred again..’s voice memo app. He ends the album with words, a laugh, and a hopeful note:
“Guys, it feels like, it feels like / It feels like / Come on / It feels like it might be over soon.”
What “it” is could be anything: the pandemic, his emotional heaviness, whatever. But temporality exists, and December 17th was one day, December 18th is the next. With a newfound focus on the future, it is exciting to see how far Fred again.. will take his passionate wordsmithing.
And… that’s my first review. Hopefully the first of many. Thank you for reading! Let me know if you liked it (or if you have critiques! Really. I’m trying to improve my review-writing skills!). Also, if you have anything you’d like me to check out, feel free to respond!
The album:
The playlist (now updated with songs from last week, and the songs I mentioned in this review):
Thank you,
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