Melaina Kol has always treated reinvention as part of the formula. The project is the work of Nashville’s Logan Hornyak and has moved from the lo-fi twee-pop of Bird Kill Worm through the folktronica of AMOSAT, but ‘Okay that’s a great idea because if I do that then’ represents a more radical departure with less reliance on guitar and electronics. In their place come an intriguing combination of cello, harp, piano, flute samples, and house music, assembled with the curiosity of someone discovering how strange familiar instruments can become when placed in uncharted surroundings. “Bleater” establishes the album’s peculiar beauty immediately. Hornyak’s bowed and pizzicato cello creates an atmosphere that is uneasy, while the recording’s clean presentation leaves each scrape, pluck, and resonance exposed. “Parallel” then introduces a more insistent pulse, its busy vocal fragments and electronic-music influence giving the track a kinetic drive that contrasts beautifully with the organic instrumentation.
The album’s most fascinating quality may be its willingness to let uncertainty ring out. Hornyak taught himself cello and harp for this project while returning to the piano training of his childhood, allowing the limitations of newly acquired technique to become part of the journey. On “Lifeheart,” harp brings a brittle glow to the arrangement. “Idola” is more contemplative, combining cello, piano, and acoustic guitar into something delicate but never exquisite.
“Minuet” briefly evokes the formality of its title before the record moves toward its central statement, “Okay that’s a great idea.” Olivia O of Lowertown contributes the song’s sweet, wistful vocal, and Hornyak subsequently uses her voice for embellishment elsewhere on the album. That choice captures the record’s larger philosophy: sounds are rarely allowed to remain stagnant. A voice becomes texture. A cello becomes rhythm. A classical instrument can occupy the role of a synthesizer.
“Eng” and “Vai” deepen that transformation. The former continues Hornyak’s fascination with unconventional vocal construction, while “Vai” reveals his interest in film music, particularly the spare emotional language associated with Yann Tiersen. Plucked cello loops recede and return, giving the piece a cinematic quality without relying on orchestral grandeur. The effect is poignant precisely because it remains understated.“ili” closes the album with flute samples suspended in an ambient setting, leaving behind the rhythmic insistence of “Parallel” for something quieter and more open. It feels like stepping into a clearing after a dense forest trek, but the album never forces you to see that breakthrough as catharsis.
Learn more links:
Bandcamp
YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
