Life Patterns - Bedroom Days
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
Life Patterns’ Bedroom Days is a nuanced, layered and complex examination of the mixed emotions of nostalgia, wistful memory and hope for the future. Life Patterns has effectively captured the feeling of remembrance in music with his music on this album.
One of the strengths of Bedroom Days is the way in which it creates and maintains a musical mood. Life Patterns weaves together melody, harmony and synth sounds in a way that evokes nostalgic feelings that shade between joy, remembrance and yearning. All of the various sonic elements serve to intensify the longing expressed within the music on the album.
Melody is another gift that Life Patterns exhibits on Bedroom Days. He has a good ear for creating poignant, effective melodies that drive right into the emotional heart of the music. There’s a knack he demonstrates for mingling different feelings in a single melody, creating a balance between dreaming and loss. The end result are melodic moments that I find deeply touching.
I also enjoy the way in which Life Patterns combines the various tonal colours, timbres and sonic textures of the synths he deploys on the album. They all mix together to produce an end result that is full of nuance, richness and expressive emotion. I am drawn in by the fact that all of the synth elements serve the overall integrity of the album as a musical expression.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
“Saturday Morning Fever” comes to life as randomly scanning radio stations are joined by snapping electric bass. Broad, digital-sounding notes roam in an energetic pattern along with steadily tapping snare drum and solid bass throb. Now nasal, piping notes float in over round-toned synth playing a wriggling melodic pattern. The sheer complexity of sonic interactions is deeply pleasing to me in this track.
Elevated, shining synth dances in a slowly intertwining figure and crystal chiming sounds trickle as the hard-hitting bass provides an underpinning. First elevated and then medium low synths carry a wandering pattern and the drums and bass pulsate. Wildly wheeling, medium-high synth spins out over the driving hi hat and ticking snare drum. The track fade on funky slap bass and bursts of static sound and an 8-bit version of the melody.
A full drum kit leaps in to provide a slightly stuttering beat as the elevated, tight sounding synth and fuzzy guitar move in to kick off “Bedroom Days.” The synth melody has a speeding, energetic feeling to it as it ranges over the guiding drums. Chimes flicker with sunny light while sharp-edged guitar slices in dynamic bursts as the full drum kit sound adds richness.
The lead synth unfurls with charging energy that I find motivating. Madly flickering chimes move and a string-like synth drifts smoothly through the track carrying a laidback melody over the easy-going drumbeat. After another fuzzy guitar line, the medium-high, mellow synth carries the relaxed melody.
A higher energy section comes in with climbing guitar and sparkling chimes driven by bursting drums. Digital-sounding synth floats out in roaming notes while the guitar-like sound flies in a widely roving pattern. Kick drum and hard-edged synths surge while huge, bright blocks of sound slowly drop in. The beat keeps throbbing on as the guitar growls out.
“Welcome to the Fantasy Zone” opens as warm, gruff edged notes rise as a voiceover about video games from the ‘80s comes in. Tense, high notes drift through open space as elevated, gleaming synth trickles in glittering lines over richly moving bass. After a drum fill, a guitar carries a dreaming melody cut by flourishing drums.
The way nostalgia permeates this track is enjoyable for me. Broad-sounding, medium-high synth sings a majestic, hopefully melody over the breaking, jumping drums. The voiceover speaks about a digitized society as the drumbeat pops and guides the music.
Washing synth notes glide into the melody as it reaches out and yearns. The drums and bass create a propulsive throb as the twisting, raised guitar whirls in flickering lines. There’s a triumphant energy to the melody over the battering power underneath it and the track ends on delicate, slowly roaming notes and a solid bass flow.
Undulating xylophone notes resonate under a narration speaking about the sound of the ocean and walking toward it as “Imaginary Coastline” gets underway. Smooth notes drift and soft, hollow percussion guides the music under the soothing narration. Elevated, glowing notes gently shift over oceanic washing and the rippling synths’ steady slide.
The narration paints a vivid image of the ocean and the beach as it effectively creates a sense of calming ease. Caressing guitar notes slide through the track as the steadily shaping percussion continues. The voice over guides the listener into total relaxation as the full drum kit hits to add motion and the guitar grows.
The same soft undulation still moves along with bass that drifts lushly. The guitar melody is a shimmering light, skipping along like a dolphin on the waves. The sound is massive and multi-layered as elevated notes climb to a crescendo. The music slips back into the washing waves and gentle tendrils of notes as the hollow percussion keeps slipping through.
“Sakuragaoka” starts off as a floating, faintly distorted piano plays emotive chords out into open space. I am drawn to the way in which the melody is nostalgic and warm. A xylophone rings out in vibrating notes to accent the melancholy piano chords.
Strings weave together, adding depth and a resonating warmth to the music. The piano melody is softly touching, aching with a mixture of memory and loss. Strings tremble and create emotional weight as the fragile piano notes call out, evoking a bittersweet feeling.
Deep, slightly bending chimes flutter through rapid patterns to open “Phantasmagoria.” The melodic patterns have a slight note variation as each line ends, resulting in a descending feeling. Chimes with a melting quality in their tones are given direction by a steadily repeating percussion element.
Now the drums form a more solid beat as the shadowed, twisting synths are broken by a tense, Theremin-like sound. The beat stutters as the vibrating chimes tremble, skilfully creating a haunted feeling. Harpsichord notes with a Baroque feeling provide a counterpoint to the dissolving chimes.
A medium-high guitar with a rough edge carries a spectral, ominous melody while the chimes flicker. A jagged sound cries out, slashed by static hiss that adds more weight. The main melodic line oozes dark energy as sonic elements blend together. The track ends on a melancholy piano cascading in the distance.
“Keen Dreams of A Better Life” commences as soothing synth notes arpeggiate with a gentle flow. The arpeggios are lifted by powerful bass as full synth chords flow through the track. Drums lightly shape the music and clear-toned guitar sings a melody that pours forth caressing, enfolding emotion.
Gigantic bass and guiding drums shape the music as a segment characterized by glowing digital synth begins. Sonic threads trail delicately through the music, carried on digital sounding synth. I enjoy the sheer sunny warmth pouring from the medium-high synth. Drums flourish in the background as the raised, glittering melody radiates hopeful light.
Now a segment with hard-edged bass rumbling below the voiceover speaking about “keen dreams of a better life”comes in. Wide, spinning arpeggios create a swirling motion and the drums pulsate. Gleaming synth notes all intertwine to create an uplifting pattern over the continually moving drums and a line of lambent notes dances the track to an end.
Resonating, deep synth carries a hazy melody with the distant sounds of children playing moving around it to start “Hikikomori.” The melody is tenuous and carried by medium-high, digital-sounding synth that has a trembling reticence in it. I am drawn to the way in which melody conveys the tension between an ache for human connection, tempered by the desire to hold back and continue to exist in one's own world.
“Sunday Night Blues” kicks off with the sounds of an arcade before dense, medium-low synth carries a melody that mingles positive feelings with a distinct stab of wistful emotion. The medium-high, computerized synth sings out a melody full of dreamy warmth.
I am enamoured of the feather light piano melody that skips along through the track. A jazz organ creates a bell-like contrast to the softly touching higher notes and a medium-low, resonant synth takes up the expectant melody and carries it out to a conclusion with the arcade noises behind it.
Conclusion
Bedroom Days is emotionally deep, musically intricate and overflowing with a profound feeling of nostalgia and memory. I was both charmed and affected by the music as it unfolded. Life Patterns has created musical beauty here.
