Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Luna Sequence - They Follow You Home

I know that not everyone is the biggest fan of albums of pure instrumentals, but for those of you who like that sort of thing, I have a treat for you. Do you want to hear music that sounds like it came from top-notch action title video game soundtrack (but it didn't, and this artist would probably take to doing that kind of thing like a duck to water, given the opportunity)? If the answer is "yes," I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with this afternoon's choice of music.

(Property of The Luna Sequence, used under Fair Use for direct, substantial commentary on product)

The Luna Sequence is a musician who does all instrumentals, and her music would be best described as having influences of electronica, punk, and metal. I mentioned her before in regard to I:Scintilla's Skin Tight, because she did one of the remixes, but I can assure you that remixing is just one of her many musical talents. She has put out five albums since she started in 2009, but in this post, I'm going to talk about my favorite album of the bunch, They Follow You Home.

One thing I like about all the songs on this album is that they all incite some sense of urgency or action within them. Every time I listen to any of these songs, particularly "I Eat Your Heart", "The Path to Abandonment", and "The Collective Voice", I feel like I'm being called to stand up and do something or go somewhere, even if there are no words to convey that message. This isn't an album if you want to kick back and chill out; this is something you listen to when you want to drum up some motivation.

At number two in the track order, "The Famine" feels like the real warm-up song for me, where I feel like I'm on the first leg of the journey that The Luna Sequence is leading me on. It almost sounds like a hard remix of what you'd expect for world music in an RPG or it could easily be background music for a first level in a beat-'em-up. (I really can't help but to use so many video game references when referring to this album or any of The Luna Sequence's music, because every album feels very cohesive and it's like each one leads you on a quest. There are no words, so you have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps that your emotions leave. For me, the easiest way to materialize my feelings is to compare them to the first thing I think about every time I have a listen: gaming.)

"Lure the Vultures" feels like I'm conducting a surprise raid in the middle of the night. What sounds like the faraway chants of a choir at the beginning and the soft background melody in the middle really added to the atmosphere that I interpreted as being surrounded by night. The minor scratchiness and the electronic bass all over the forefront of the song though gives me the feeling that this night is definitely not meant to be serene.

Without a doubt, "The Path to Abandonment" is my favorite song by The Luna Sequence, period. I sense this overall feeling of revenge throughout the song, almost as if this is meant to be played in the background when a main character is fighting a decisive battle against an enemy who took someone dear from the protagonist. The bit from about 3:04 to 3:36 seems to be my biggest evidence for how I feel, because I can almost picture someone in pain, remembering everything that happened and being resolute in making someone pay.

The other song I want to mention in particular is "The Collective Voice", because that song feels like the true climax of the album. If "The Famine" is just breaking out into the world, then "The Collective Voice" is the final battle (and "Ocean Under Light" is kind of like the ending). The drums really bring the sense of decisiveness and finality to the song, but the tune gives a sense of openness, too. It's like regardless of whatever the struggle the listener who has undertaken this quest has had to endure, that person is not alone.

Obviously, a lot of what I felt was personal to me, and people who listen to this album (or any of The Luna Sequence's albums, for that matter) will have their own feelings and thoughts to bring to the table. But what matters is this is the kind of music that intentionally incites those thoughts and sparks the creativity of imagination. This is the kind of music that cuts through your defenses and simply makes you feel. It's not as important what you feel as much as it is that the winds of emotion sweep in at full force.

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