100 Bands in 100 Days Presented by Verity Credit Union — Day 61: Former Selves
Please check out Verity Credit Union, our great partner in the 100 Bands in 100 Days local music showcase.
Music fans of the Pacific Northwest, get ready for our fourth annual year-end daily local music showcase, 100 Bands in 100 Days, where every day until December 31st, we’re showcasing a new band or artist you have to know about, presented by Verity Credit Union. Make sure you are checking the #100Bands100Days hashtag at Twitter on the daily to stay on top of all the bands featured and make sure to follow Verity on Twitter and NW_Music_Scene as well. Some days the featured act could be an established and locally-adored northwest-based musician and other times they could be a band with a small following that just hasn’t had their deserved time in the sun yet. Either way, we’re fairly confident you can come away from this daily segment with plenty of new favorites. Today’s featured artist is Former Selves.
Way back in April of 2017 we reviewed a very intriguing two song album by Former Selves. It’s titled The Heart Wants and while we suppose you could technically call it an EP, each of the songs on side A and B (released on cassette) clock in right around 20 minutes. But don’t let the length scare you away, this music is well worth your time and you will find yourself immersed in these sounds and not thinking about petty things like what time it is or where you need to be.
Here’s some of what we said about the EP in our review:
The Heart Wants is a journey through space and time, body and mind. The incredibly lonely opener, “The Heart Wants,” could easily carve a place in your early morning routine. The suspended drones are warm like the bathwater you sprinkle over your newborn, yet foreboding like a blackened sky. Chorale and completely meditative in muscle, “The Heart Wants” is achingly reflective. Few deep listening pieces can hold and give such intense focus without being pushy. At the halfway point, Skomsvold reveals a holy moment of clarity. The expanse of space is felt while keys are gently dabbled. The echoes get thicker and the static churns while the spirit exits the body.
Side B is a deep dive back into the body; a surveying of false-firing neurons and shifty synapses. “What The Heart Wants” reveals glimpses of melody coated in the thick, penetrating swells that circulate the walls and headspace of your life. Time becomes nearly irrelevant while your true self fights to rise above ego and bullshit. With tension so dense, it’s a wonder how the flubbing and pulsating doesn’t implode. Deeper into the song, the tones and depth crystallize and trickle down like microscopic snowflakes. The second movement is a series of bleeps and repetitive hums. There’s a constant throbbing to keep the listener focused. The static waves flow until the synthesizer grows demigod in size, and once again, the sheer magnitude of electric currents and buzzing teases blowout, only to dim away before contact. The song fades introspectively where the scenery fizzles out as a tender explosion finally occurs. We are not the same as we entered.
Skomsvold’s The Heart Wants permits time and space to flood the levee of your soul. Like the richly colored stones on the cover, The Heart Wants aims to rise from the grey, colorless shadows and manifest into something truly magnetic. A better you awakes.
