By José Gandue @spinning zone
«"You find it hard to hide your tenderness"»
From the song Where everyone dies
Making good (and interesting) sad music is very difficult. Of course, the art market is full of mournful tunes, seemingly inspired by the worst Televisa soap operas, sung with mournful voices that infect the listener with ridiculous depression. Who believes in the melancholy of Arjona, Montaner, and other pathetic examples of the sonic tearjerker market offered by major record labels? Pure material that makes us want to slit our wrists with plastic knives.
I insist: Making songs that brilliantly scratch at what they call the heart is the work of brilliant and honest people. At least that's what I suspect. That's why it's good news to know that Prehistoric, The Chilean pop project led by Tomäs Preuss, released its new album right in the middle of Christmas Ghost hug.
Preuss's work is well-received., given that She knows how to combine simple, direct instrumentation (a mix of synthpop and acoustic and folk melancholy), with a voice that whispers without crossing the line that confuses the captivating with the corny. His texts, presented with stimulating melodies, manage to evoke intimacy, whether with lasting desire or containing ephemeral moments that do not extend unnecessarily. He uses phrases that immediately shock, as when he says, in a contradictory way of emotional rescue:
«"I'm going to give you encouragement/ There is no pain in hell"»
The artist knows how to talk about longing, desires, and despair., And although he occasionally resorts to words that deviate from everyday discourse, His music expresses everyday life; what he feels and sings is something anyone can understand and experience. Anyone understands when Preuss says in If it ends, the most popular track on the album:
«"Let's stay awake / let's move slower / I'm enjoying you staying over at my house"»
Then he continued and said:
«"And this fog can resemble love"»
I insist, what Prehistóricos does is make simplicity a fascinating art. These are compositions that cannot escape their beauty, and by avoiding bombast, they become more approachable. Here, at last, nostalgia is valid and feeds a healthy heartbreak that we need with each passing day.
