Andy E and Wally T, from Pittsburgh make up WalrusTales. Currently based in Miami, they both left college to pursue a career in music. Coming from a love of both Edm and Jazz, they seek to bring complexity and intelligence to electronic scene. They also operate on a schedule of “vocal honesty”, leaving their vocals nearly raw in their studio based projects.
On their track “Drifting”, WalrusTales proves that they can be wonderfully meandering, thoughtfully spacey, and uniquely melodic. Back in the 90’s, Trent Reznor helped us to realize that the most interesting and engaging electronic music is written by bands that know how to cleverly manipulate musical textures. Nine Inch Nails obviously excelled in this department. Now WalrusTales brings their end of the stick to the table, melding those ‘manipulated musical textures’ with ‘vocal honesty’; once again proving that evocative musical textures are the stuff of innovative and intelligent musicians.
It’s wonderful to run into music that can showcase a unique and innovative spirit, yet embody something hauntingly familiar. At some moments experimental, the next uplifting and the next full on ethereal: WalrusTales just kicks butt in every possible way- when they’re singing, rapping or just instrumental. I could go through and deconstruct the ebb and flow of all the components of their songs just for fun, but I think that the best way to understand and enjoy their music is as a visceral whole… a creative orb of contrast, resolution and revelation. From “Emails From Home” to “Preamble” and onto “Drifting”, every song will eventually grow on you and you’ll never be able to listen to it loud enough.
“Drifting” is unique but not overbearing, diverse in its approach and humble in its delivery. Plug it into your player, stare out across an ocean of blue, as the sun slowly drowns in the horizon, turn the player way up and enjoy. The mesmeric musical quality of the song is undeniable, along with the vocals. You would think that coating your voice in falsetto would get annoying fast…but somehow it doesn’t. Instead, it lends an eerie lonesomeness and potency that meshes quite well with the hypnotic keyboard driven music.
The key here is subtlety and intriguing soundscapes, music that reveals itself over time. If you want to be beaten over the head with the exact emotion you’re supposed to feel, look elsewhere. Andy E and Wally T forge a soulful and very interesting combination of sound on “Drifting” that borders on a blend of Downtempo and Ambient music, yet is so much more. If you are a music addict and looking for something that is better than what’s cool on the Top 40 right now, this is it!
OFFICIAL LINKS: ITUNES – SOUNDCLOUD – FACEBOOK – TONEDEN
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