The Endearing -Internet Friends
Review by Karl Magi
Overall Album Impressions
The Endearing's Internet Friends is a deeply emotional, affecting, and beautifully neon-lit exploration of humanity, encompassing all of the joy and pain within that experience. The inclusion of a talented list of guest performers only intensifies and amplifies the musical power contained within this album. I enjoy the layered, melodic listening experience, along with the richly harmonic nature of the vocal performances.
The intense complexity of the synth layers on Internet Friends creates a series of different textures, tones, and timbres. The Endearing enfolds all of the strong vocal performances on the album in glimmering, flashing neon light and powerfully propulsive percussion. The end result is music with lush sonic enjoyment captured within every track.
All of the guest performers included on Internet Friends contribute to the high musical quality demonstrated on the album. Each guest has a distinctive vocal signature and performance profile that mingles with The Endearing’s softly touching, affecting vocal style. The end result is music with harmonic and melodic beauty flowing into the listeners' ears.
I am also drawn to the songwriting on Internet Friends. Each song delves into the vulnerability and emotional toll taken by life on all of us. I appreciate how the songs touch something within each of us, speaking to the experiences that shape our lives. The way in which those feelings and moods are expressed increases the album's appeal for me.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
"Internet Friends" commences as soothing arpeggios swirl in the distance, while lush bass floats out. Ethereally ringing notes hover above the broadly twirling arpeggios before shimmering synth carries a melody that mingles wistful sentiment with brilliant illumination.
The bass flows underneath with powerful uplift, tidal energy filling it, while the tranquil synth pulses in calming chords. Chimes ring with fragility and a tremulous touch as the bass continues to undulate. I find myself breathing in deeply and exhaling with peace as the drums punch in now, providing guiding power above the colossal bass.
The percussion cascades, and the effulgent synth gleams with sunlight positivity above the guiding low end. A sense of victorious light permeates the music before the track slips back into contemplative quiet, ending softly.
Delicately glimmering synth swells and entwined voices move in a beautiful, lush melody to commence "Picture Perfect". Guitar sings out with reverberant energy as The Endearing’s effortlessly touching voice carries the softly caressing lyrics, intertwining with Kinnie Lane, who adds her own gentle voice. Both singers mingle their emotive voices to create intense expression, the melody soothing and full of affection.
The powerful drums guide the music as a silken guitar slips out, carrying a freewheeling melody that glides through the music in a lustrous rush. The two singers bring their voices together into harmonic depth that draws me in. Now Kinnie Lane’s voice drifts, followed by The Endearing’s, backed by rounded synth chords that create rich support.
The drums pound like a heartbeat, and the harmonic voices mingle into one ethereal whole. Now Kinnie Lane’s voice slips out with heartfelt expression, and the massive bass guides the track. Both singers capture the lyrics' passion, their voices mixing into a beautiful sound. The drums and bass drive on as the vocals slowly slip into silence.
Our storyteller says that the song's subject is "picture perfect," and her love for them is like an ocean pearl, "so endless." She adds that the other person is "the one, the only one for me," and she loves them like "the sun in the sky." Their love blazes, and she knows that "our love goes on and on and on."
Chimes flicker with lambent luminosity above a steadily pulsating low end to commence "Loose Ends". The drums and bass punch onwards as the chimes shimmer and trumpeting synth calls out with a dynamically bursting melody. The Endearing’s resonant voice is full of deep sensitivity, expressing melancholy and wistful dreaming.
A trumpeting synth shines as the chorus creates dark import. A saxophone howls out in radiant motion as Young Empress and The Endearing bring their voices together. There is power and majesty in the melody, tinged by threat. The saxophone cries, and now a ferociously battering drumbeat and massive synths leap out.
A jagged bassline slashes as the chimes glitter above it while the drums flourish. Crushing power fills the low end before The Endearing’s vocals express danger. The saxophone adds an impassioned element to which I am strongly drawn.
The low end is raging as the chorus floats, and the two singers’ voices soar with intense expression above the charging low end. The chimes glint, and the saxophone leaps before the track ends on wandering, pained notes and minor-key chimes.
The narrator speaks of how "we're only human, pieces of the stars. She adds that "we are born into a universe, a never-ending galaxy of art." She adds that, like everything that came before us, "we all fall apart," and as history repeats, going "on and on… round and round" as it spirals.
Now the storyteller speaks of outside forces who are gods "in a place that you call home." They are strangers from unknown places who are to be feared. These outside forces say, "we are not your friends, you are just a loose end."
Ethereally drifting notes introduce "Blue Lagoon", as bass slowly slips underneath in a soft tie.The Endearing’s voice climbs with ardent strength, rising over the hard-hitting drums and bass with one expressive sound. Now he shares vocal duties with Glass Heart, whose voice adds more depth. The drums and bass rapidly rush as guitar curls around the other sounds, and the synth swells with starry warmth.
Both singers mingle their unique voices to create a melody that bursts with yearning and bright light. The Endearing’s vocals capture all of the feeling in the song as Glass Heart’s vocals follow, delicate in the distance. Now refulgent synth trembles above the punchy drums, adding a note of victory and hope that I find pleasing.
The brilliant synth layers shift around the vocals, which rise with ethereal lightness. Glass Heart lets go with vocals that explode with passion as the drums rebound and halftime while the bass adds muscled weight. The song ends with both singers in a harmonic duo, and synth slipping out into silence.
The narrator talks about a "blue lagoon" that is paradise for both of them in the afterlife. They go on to say that after everything's said and done, "you were not the only one." They wonder who could ask for more, and the answer is, "I want more from this; I'm crazy for you." They say that from the "abyss," they'll rise together and surface.
"Take Me Away" starts with gently flowing synth, and The Endearing’s powerfully expressive vocals capture the freely gliding melody. Shining synth with a hollow sound echoes out in a brightly pulsing pattern above the throbbing drums. Arch Envy and The Endearing bring their lush voices together, gossamer and tenderly caressing as the low end rebounds.
I am drawn to the aching feeling within each vocalist's voice. The chorus climbs with more uncertainty as the two singers' mixed voices create powerful sensations. The background synth flares with piercing light as a synthesized choir calls out. The lucent main melody floats past with delicacy as the singers’ voices brim with heartfelt emotion.
The chorus arcs upward with sunlit brightness, and the drums batter. Elevated synth radiates light as the bass undulates and the drums pound. The song ends with The Endearing and Arch Envy again bringing the lyrics to life above the driving low end.
The narrator asks if he and the song's subject can take everything back, if they can "paste over the cracks and start again?" He says that he has to move on and "bite my tongue" as life continues. He continues by saying that they should prove other people are right. He reminds himself to remain strong: "as our song sounds so wrong when you're not in sight." He says that cracks are beginning to form as his vision is obscured.
Our storyteller talks about taking deep breaths as the world is asleep, and it seems as if he's walking by himself. He says that he is "concealing the feeling that you gave me when you left our home." His heart continues to beat faster as he asks the song's subject to take him away because "I don't think these feelings will pay off for me." He adds that as heavily as his heart sinks: "my demons know how to swim."
The narrator again asks to be taken away because he doesn't think that his current feelings will benefit him. He adds that "the burden is mine to bear," so he asks the person to again take him away from the situation in which he finds himself.
Calming synth waves wash underneath glimmering notes to begin "Crystal Eyes". Melancholy peace flows as sparkling notes flit past and the drums flourish. Now the bass interlocks with the punching drums and the gleaming synth, carrying a yearning, soothing melody above the depths. The Endearing’s affectionate vocals ache as they carry the wistful melody, full of wishful rumination.
The drums and bass throb easily, and the vocals rise with resonant expression above the shining synth that floats in between the words and the colossal percussion and bass. The Endearing’s soft, tremulous vocals carry the melody above the trickling, luminous notes and washing bass.
A computerized distortion in the vocals adds an interesting touch before The Endearing’s touching performance draws me inward. The lyrics slip out again with mournful need as the glittering synth flashes. The vocals are full and affecting as they unfold, and the drums and bass guide the music to a conclusion.
Our storyteller says that he has many things he'd like to say to the song’s subject. For instance, he never got "a chance to tell you that I love you." He adds that he's had enough of sleeping with the lights on, but "without you here, I live in fear." When he shuts his eyes, "the light shines on me," and he recognizes the other person's "crystal eyes," which "crystallized before they hit the sky, intensified in my mind."
"Low" opens with the sound of a cassette tape clicking into place and playing, underpinned by massive bass and slowly undulating, luminous notes. When sweeps and now Bethany Munroe captures all of the lyrical feeling in her evocative and powerful voice. The drums and bass throb with guiding strength and launch an active beat as Bethany Munroe’s emotive vocals take hold of my heart and run with it.
The glimmering synth frolics as the vocals climb with warmth. Now Bethany Munroe’s voice drifts with a subtly shining accompaniment as the earnest vocals ring out in uplifting and hopeful life. Synth fills the music with filigreed illumination as Bethany Munroe’s voice climbs with power and feeling. The track glides into a peacefully delicate segment in which the drums rebound and the vocals cascade. All of the various parts intertwine to create one richly satisfying whole.
The narrator asks the song's subject to tell her that it's okay. She says that she realizes she shouldn't be depressed today, but "it's just what I got in my brain." She adds that her "devils are such good dancers," and as they pull her in, she spins faster and goes "spiraling into disaster."
Our storyteller asks the song's subject if they'll swear she isn't too sad for them. She also asks, "will you say it's okay in the way you do?" because she keeps showing her true self, and the other person keeps coming back. She asks, "is this what it means to be loved for who I am?"
"All the graves I dig are so comfortable," according to the narrator. She concludes that the ending is easier than the middle, as she is "trying to be loved just a little."
Dense bass flows, and a glistening synth cascades to kick off "What a Time to Be Alive". The bass undulates, and now propulsive drums launch a steady heartbeat as the limpid synth carries an uplifting melody that intertwines richly. Synth with smooth illumination spreads glowing chords above the smoothly oscillating bass pulse and punching drums.
The lead synth pours out scintillating brightness, carrying an encouraging melody. The sense of motion and uplift carries me into a positive mood. Now the drums and bass explode into a rapid rush as the medium-high, shiny synth suffuses the music with luminosity. The glittering synth spins out in motivational melodic life as the low end accelerates.
The drums flourish, and the tempo slows again as the piercing brightness flares through the music. The drums become slightly more uneven above the steadily throbbing bass as the synth moves with majestic strength, full of shine. There is nobility and strength as the drifting synth hovers, and then the drums erupt again with towering muscle as open-sounding arpeggios rush past. The track grows in victorious power before coming to an end.
Conclusion
Internet Friends is an atmospheric, passionately expressed exploration of human emotion, combining the talents of many different performers with The Endearing's approach to creating synth-based music. It's an album I could listen to many times and still derive the same pleasure from the experience.
