We are required to spend 4 years in high school during one of the most awkward phases in our life. While you enter as a measly freshman who clutches their books tightly and walks down the hall at marathon pace; you end up as a senior, strutting through the hallways like it is a red carpet while your books stay tucked away in your locker collecting dust.
In those 4 years we experience the range of emotions concerning love. Finding it, falling for it, and being broken by it. This EP reflects that journey and it starts with “I Understand Now”, a slow tempo track that is a reflection of four years gone by and all of the lessons learned. The percussion features prominently and the track is brought to live by the snare and kick that you feel as all the lessons come back, one by one.
The next track, “Thinking About Who” is much more upbeat and has a little more electronic feel to it. The tempo is faster and the percussion again features in this song. It reminds me of something that might be played mostly live as the melody is not all together electronic and the percussion could definitely be performed. I like the way the track gets you into the mood, thinking about the song and what it feels like as you follow around on the dance floor.
The interlude “Hurt” is interesting as a standalone song. While short, the title reminds me of how the part where you are hurt by love is important overall, but you can learn from it quickly and move on. The track barely hits 2 minutes, but while you listen, you immerse yourself in the deep vocal samples and the prominent percussion.
“Love Enough” is one beautiful piano melody after another with a deep bass kick that you can feel even without the bass turned up. After the song fades out and comes back with a everything turned up to a new level. The synth work brings you into the track and holds tightly as you learn to love someone enough to keep them around, but not so much that they want to let go. A delicate balance, much like the track, that can tip either way.
Lastly, we have “Small Moments” with an uplifting melody that brings you up out of the gloom to see that while not everything can be perfect, life is all about moments and the lessons that we learn. Love is tricky and can be both the most wonderful thing and the worst. The complex snare pattern compliments the synth-y melody well as your spirits are lifted and you remember how much you’ve learned and how much you’ve grown over time. Like the EP, love and high school are both journeys that will be crossed and experienced to the fullest. Remembering what you’ve learned and heard will benefit you in the end.
You can download Mav Brook’s EP for free right now on his Soundcloud! Go check it out!
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