Cascading Beach Weather Within A Room

 

I finished reading Room by Emma Donoghue today. An intriguing novel that doesn’t quite live up to its premise, yet its look at how solitary confinement, isolation and abuse can affect everyone directly or indirectly was commendable. I’ve been reading it for almost two months, and I waylaid writing this post just to put it to bed.

Why am I telling you this? Because I was listening to Cascadia, the debut EP by Beach Weather AKA 20 year old Henry Armbrecht. The melancholic existentialism and sepia-tinged fleeting memories that waft off the music is akin to that of Youth Lagoon, a clear influence here, further augmented by Armbrecht’s assertion that each song was conceptualised after having a particularly vivid dream. I think it’s quite impressive (although the way Armbrecht says “ghosts” in Autotune on ‘Ghosts' inexplicably irks me), and is a mesmerising listen that you can easily lose yourself in.

And as the poignant, bittersweet ending of Room came to a close, it lent a certain level of gravitas that I wasn’t expecting. And this is why I love music – when it encapsulates a feeling or emotion to the point that they become indelibly entwined. A very impressive debut.

You can grab Cascadia here.