The Etymology of Mysterious Ear Candy
I remember the first time I listened to this track. I was scrolling through Instagram sometime in October, and I saw an Etymology Records Instagram post for a new release. I’m typically a fan of their offerings so I checked it out. The moment I heard the silky texture of the guitars (almost reminiscent of the midwest-emo and Chicago math rock of the 1990’s), I was sold!
The track, “an afternoon filled with boardgames” features a very naked and multi-layered guitar progression that repeats throughout, seemingly and intentionally imperfect for the sake of creating texture, motion and auditory intrigue. The track drops into a very steady, head-bobber of a lofi beat; with a crisp rim shot and steady, natural sounding hi-hats. These percussive elements are accompanied by a very open and spacious bass line that really completes the aura of the tune; giving it separation and depth. ‘Daytime, Lovely Spaces’ adds variety and linear progression by adding a beautiful melodic guitar melody that provides a sense of nostalgia and emotional fulfillment to an otherwise repetitive (in a good way… it’s lofi duh) sonic journey. Additionally, the artist sprinkles in a couple chop-ups and beat switch-ups along the way to give a nice element of surprise to the work.
Up to this point, the artist who created “an afternoon filled with board games” has ONLY released this one, single track. While it has amassed over 120,000 streams in just a few months, I’m a tad unsure of who this artist might be? There is no trace of a social media presence, no releases with other labels; nothing. This is something I’m seeing more and more of in our genre; Artists who pop up with seemingly no identity, drop off a banger with one of the more prominent labels in the genre, land a few editorials, scoop up a few hundred thousand streams and POOF! Drifting off into the abyss, ever-so-casually being a lofi juggernaut with no intention of doing so consistently. Industry plant? AI Music? The label owner’s third cousin decided to take a stab at a lofi beat and had beginner’s luck? Perhaps it’s another prominent lofi artist operating under a pen name? Nevertheless, a little mystery never hurt anyone. Honestly, what’s not to respect? Somebody just woke up one day and felt like cranking out one single lofi tune, sending it to a lofi mammoth like Etymology, did some solid numbers and then said “meh; maybe I’ll do it again sometime. Or maybe I won’t… We’ll see”.
Ultimately, we love that folky, organic stuff here at Amelia Grace. So it’s no surprise that we’d review this one and even feature it at the top of the reference playlist we send aspiring artists when they’re looking to get a feel for the sound we look for in submissions. Whoever you are, ‘Daytime, Lovely Spaces’, your name is cool; and so is that one song you did that one time..
Listen on your favorite platform here.
