I love an eponymous project – I am especially intrigued by an upcoming or smaller artist deciding to have this type of project early on in their career. I believe that the decision is motivated by confidence, self-assurance, and belief. Simultaneously, it feels very self-defining, vulnerable, and honest. Outpaced Snail, wrote, mixed, produced, played all the instruments, arranged, and mixed this project themselves. As a fan of Tyler, the Creator, I am already impressed.
The titles of the songs, such as, “i wish i was a bug, in the way that all my problems would be simply too big for me to handle,” are equally intriguing as the project being described as a ‘emo, lofi- thing…” and I appreciate how melodramatic the titles are. They give you a preview into the overall themes and lyrical content of the album but are also transparent. Outpaced Snail has no problem, in fact, they invite you into their world of sadness, confusion and heartbreak. The production on this is heavy, melancholic and angsty with lyricism and low indistinct vocals to match.
I do wish that there was louder instrumentation to live up to the intensity of the titles and also create this atmosphere. A soundscape that accommodates the heaviness of the narrative is necessary and is possible – and even if the artists wishes to stick to lo-fi and emo music, there is a way to give it texture. Overall, I am impressed with the long length of the songs and the intense titles.
Written by Nthatile Mavuso
