Extreme Mood Swings

Redolent

Single Review

Written by Luke Knowles

Songs that catch my attention and keep it aren’t always loud, full of stunning guitar work, or carried by a once in a generation vocalist. The songs that catch my attention are often subtle, wrapped in honesty and packed full of melodies and lyrics that get under my skin. Songs that shrug off the bells and whistles and allow the idea of what formed the song to breath freely amid the instrumentation that came afterwards. Extreme Mood Swings is one of these songs. Written and self-produced by fast rising Edinborough alt-pop collective Redolent it is a song that acts like a melodic mirror for its listeners as it dives into the inner monologue of mental health.

Coming together once again the duo in both music and life, Robin & Danny Herbert have set out to bring together their steady recognisable production pattern and breath more life into the personality that runs through their music. Much like previous release Space Cadet, Extreme Mood Swings keeps that subtle nod to industrial pop sound. The solid synths and prevalent beat, edged with an element of steel edge really lends a very grounded element to the track. In fact this almost working class feel (don’t as me why, it just has a feel of it) really makes the song feel humble and personable all at the same time.

For me this feeling coupled with Robin’s delicate vocal delivery of the lyrics creates a pure hypnosis as you listen. You almost get the feeling that you’ve slipped reality and goes through the mirror to see yourself as others do. However at the same time as questioning ones own mental health, the song also highlights the empty platitudes and repeated questions asked by those around you. “….is he alright?….” the first lyric of the song and a common question heard by anyone who has seemed different in front of friends and family. It’s also a question that the answer is rarely expected to be more than a ‘ah, its fine’. This is highlighted at the end of the opening verse when the lyrics “….it’ll be alright, even when it isn’t….” This highlights the fact that people find it easier to bury their feelings from others but also in the same line points a finger at the empty platitudes given by people who have no clue what to say after getting an honest answer to the question.

This theme of simultaneously recognising the mechanics of mental health “….Just neurone firing…” is always coupled with an exhausted shrug at the sheer cliche way peoples mental health is dealt with by others and even by yourself. This duality of thought and feeling is somewhat mirrored in the musical composition as well. Throughout the track a back and forth conintues with a fuzzed, almost twangy synth effect being echoed by a sonar like beep that inhabits the background of the song. For me the fuzzy synth (and I maybe stretching things a bit here, but when have I ever not) speaks towards the cloud that descends over your mind when feeling depressed and hopeless. While the sonar blip synth is that small piece of you that recognises what it is and tries to keep you talking through it all. That’s just my theory anyway.

Overall and once again Redolent have crafted a track that showcases their uncanny ability to create hypnotic soundscapes and paint vivid lyrical pictures while at the same time staying true to their themes and intentions. With singles like tis it is clear that this group of passionate musicians from Scotland are on the cusp of achieving great things in a short time. I am very excited for what comes next.

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