It’s one thing to write about an issue that you have seen, studied, heard about, or otherwise experienced anecdotally; it is another to theme a whole bunch of songs based around a very personal and very traumatic experience. But that is what drives this new EP from The Dialtones.
Although known for plenty of cool bands, it was The Heartless Bastards that brought Lauren Gurgiolo to my attention. But that was then, and this is now, and now is all about capturing a year-long psychotic manic episode, complete with auditory and visual hallucinations and separation from her nearest and dearest as music.
As you might expect, music echoing such a surreal and challenging time is, at times, equally surreal and challenging, a sonic reflection of a quixotic and confusing journey. Words might not be enough, but music, melody, rhythm, and cacophony add a lot of extra dimensions.
The opener, “Naming No Names,” might be melodic and groovesome, drawing a relatively consistent musical dynamic as a baseline and launch pad, but by contrast, “Monk” wanders some interesting extremes, from the spacious and ordered to the squalling and confusing, never staying in one place long before flitting off into new ideas and new directions.
And “Risa,” which rounds things off, is fractured, fractious, and fragmented, and, in its own way, fantastic. It is hard to put the music into words, such as its ever-changing, surreal, and hyper-real nature, but that is the point, I guess.
I’m lucky enough to be able to say that my mental health has always been relatively robust, but that just makes me more fortunate than most. And if the music found here captures a fraction of how confusing and overwhelming it can be when the mind starts playing such tricks, then I thank whatever powers that be that have kept me that way.
Static Sky is a brave and brilliant musical statement, one that signals to others who have, are, or will experience such hard times that they are not alone. This brave and honest album is perhaps one of the most important, poignant, and powerful pieces of music you will have heard in a long time, a voice in the wilderness, a candle in the dark, a warning from one who knows.
But I will leave the final words to the artist herself: “I want to support people who have similar struggles because it’s hard to understand unless you’ve been through it,” Gurgiolo shares, having witnessed two friends succumb to the disease. To raise awareness about this issue, Gurgiolo implores friends and family members to intervene if they suspect someone is going manic, as the person might not be aware. “Please call an ambulance immediately.”
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