AURORA EP x LP Album Review

Album Covers of Infections of a Different Kind (2018) and A Different Kind of Human (2019)

Infections of A Different Kind and A Different Kind of Human are a 2-step release by Norwegian artist Aurora. “Infections” is an 8-track EP first released last September 2018 while “A Different Kind” is a full-length released June 2019 that closes this 2-part journey into Aurora’s universe.

Since I’ll be reviewing 1 EP and 1 LP, instead of doing a per-song critique like I did on my first and other upcoming reviews, I’ll just make reviews on the standout songs I find in these albums. Now without further ado, let’s get into it.

Screenshots Taken From Queendom and The River Music Videos

Queendom x The River
Both opening songs, while Queendom welcomes us into Aurora’s universe, The River is an exposition on the emotional openness we are encouraged to have while trekking on Aurora’s queendom. Both songs open soft but have choruses that feel like the movies. The River’s chorus feels the same as how it does to watch the cinematic intros of coming-of-age movies.

Both songs celebrate embracing one’s humanness, differences, quirks, weaknesses, and whichever it is that makes us… us.

Speaking of embracing our own special oddities, Aurora released “Forgotten Love” as the 2nd track of the Infections album and man, I have a special love for this song because besides being an excellent song on it’s own, it also incorporates a language Aurora created in it’s bridge. The bridge, while it’s words being unintelligible to the listener, can still be understood with the emotion it wraps you in. It’s not gibberish being sung on the mic when it was recorded. Even if you don’t understand what it means, you feel what it means. Am I still making sense? Let’s continue.

Screenshot Taken from the Animal Music Video

Animal is a special song I consider as one of my favorites. It’s interesting how Aurora is identified as a delicate, innocent, forest elf by some fans that end up not liking this song over the sensuality it gives off to the point that some old fans call Aurora as “corrupted” by the mainstream (jesus christ lmao). I mean yes, I can also see Aurora as a forest elf but that doesn’t mean she can’t harness her femininity and sing about sensual issues that are about the raw and carnal rush that “hunting” can bring.

I can see how terrible I’m already being at this review. Forgive me, this kind of music is not my home genre and I am still learning the words on how to verbalize my thoughts about electronic music.

While listening to Aurora’s tracks and being enveloped by the rhythm that drives us to dance. From an interview I watched, Aurora noted how much she adores raving and dancing to the point that she can literally dance until she dies. This love of movement can be felt all throughout these 2 releases. There is always pulsating beat for the listener to latch themselves and move along to. Yes, even the softer and slower songs like All is Soft Inside and It Happened Quiet still have an unmistakable rhythm that can make you dance or at the very least, sway your body along to.

I want to talk about the track “The Seed” in particular. I find it truly interesting as someone who’s grown up listening to aggressive punk and metal music drive anger home through the presentation of sheer violence in the song. However, listening to “The Seed”, it’s unmistakable that this is a song filled with rage. Reading through youtube comments and seeing it being described as a song filling you with righteous anger and I had to stop and just absorb that because that’s definitely what this song leaves you feeling. Despite being melodic, the song delivers the rush of urgency to the listener about the shit-stricken state of the world right now, especially how nature is literally dying right in front of our eyes.

Aurora said in an interview that while she doesn’t consume much music, she loves listening to instrumentals especially movie soundtracks and it definitely shows in this track over epic-sounding production. The tension, and rising and falling of the song feel like an ocean wave rushing inside your head. Calm, slowly building, and then tides crashing all it’s weight down on the listener.

(I’ve got to be honest, I binged watched interviews and live performances upon discovering Aurora. Personally, that’s just how I can consume art. I need to contextualize the art with the artist’s history and perspective. I feel like it gives me further understanding on what ever art it is that I’m consuming.) Going straight to the point, Aurora pointed herself as a percussionist and it definitely shows songs like Apple Tree, Gentle Earthquakes, and Churchyard wherein the main pulse is sprinkled with percussive elements that keep your ears and mind busy.

Aurora isn’t something to listen to as background noise. There’s just so much happening behind the main vocals that plays with your perception and sensation. Clicking, tapping, chimes, synths and vocals panning left, right, and around your head. Every listen to these albums bring something in the forefront that you probably haven’t noticed on your earlier listens.

It’s notable how Aurora uses vocal harmonies especially octaves and I just want to say how easy it is for other artists to overuse this kind of harmony that ends up leaving songs sounding lifeless and uninspired (couGhedcoughsHEerancoUhg). This doesn’t happen to either albums because while the melody is driven home by the (usually) octaved harmony, there’s so many harmonization happening in the backing vocals as well that are tastefully placed as to not make the tracks sound muddy or confusing.

As we try to consume these albums in a wider context, I think it’s amazing how meticulous this album is. With each listen that I end up hearing something new or getting a new realization on which song means. While some songs are simplistic in structure, there are still layers that can be peeled to find hidden gems in.

Daydreamer and Dance on the Moon are special songs I want to talk about. Despite having melancholic tones, Aurora’s production are able to turn them into hopeful songs (and I have to let you know that I am a sucker for happy-sad songs). Now this isn’t a happy accident of some sort, Aurora stated in an interview that while all her songs are melancholic of some sort, she always wants people to find hope in them as well.

While listening to the tracks, the songs leave you feeling small, a speck in the great beyond of the ever-expanding existence of the universe but at the same time, it leaves you feeling grateful, in awe and wonder over how amazing it even is to exist in that very universe.

“I dance as I’m falling but I never touch the ground
One day I will penetrate the earth
And explode in motion sounds
And if I listen, will my mouth be filled with fire?
Will I laugh or will I cry? Ah
This time I become everyone and the world will wonder why”

The insignificance of our existence to the universe is off-set by our ability to actually do something and make a change even in the smallest-sense, it does matter to do something about things we can control.

A Different Kind of Human/Mothership
These tracks close the album in what I think is the best way. Although placed separately in the album, I find it best to listen to them one after another to get the full picture.

After all the noise of the world, it comes full circle with a cinematic ending as well with the track closing in on us in a gentle hush letting us know that it’s alright to leave now; we are home.

RATINGS:
Infections of a Different Kind – 8/10
Songs To Listen To: Queendom, Forgotten Love, Churchyard

A Different Kind of Human – 9/10
Songs To Listen To: The River, Animal, The Seed, Apple Tree, Daydreamer

Closing thoughts:
The magic of Aurora’s music lies in the contrasting energy and perspective they leave the listener in. While traversing the Queendom’s universe can feel like a totally different universe to be in, at the same time it grounds you here on Earth so well that you get glimpses of connection that Aurora has with mother nature itself. It makes you feel one with Her and also every single person that share the love not only of music but of life as well.

The kind of deliberate decisions taken during the production process of song creation shows in almost all of the tracks. Every sound the listener is hearing is not something placed there just to fill out the soundscape. I feel that Aurora’s music is a massive forest and she and her team are able to produce these 2 albums without getting lost within that labyrinth of sound. The reason why I enjoyed these 2 albums so much is because there’s not one note out of place. Each one placed in the songs are put in with care and deliberate intent to help Aurora tell her stories and thoughts effectively.

Definitely check out Aurora’s first album “All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend” (Rating 6.5/10) as well. There are a lot of gems in that album. While not being that much different sonically, it’s still a different experience from these 2 albums we initially reviewed. Standout tracks in that album are Runaway and I Went Too Far.

I also need to say that Aurora’s live performances are a spectacle as well. I personally became a fan after watching this KEXP performance so if you have time, go watch their live performances.

There’s just so much more we can pick apart and flesh out about her music (both studio and live performances) but I think I’ve rambled enough. Aurora is a gem in the music industry as an artist not willing to compromise her authenticity by creating music that disturbs and comforts at the same time.

From listening to her whole catalogue of songs, Aurora’s music just keeps getting better and better. I am already excited for her future releases. With the level of quality she’s produced now, I can’t wait for them to get even better.

BRING ME THE HORIZON – Amo Album Review

Bring Me The Horizon ushers us to their new musical era with the band’s sixth studio album Amo.

I APOLOGIZE IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING

Intro songs are how artists introduce an album to their audience. It’s supposed to give the listener a first taste of what to expect in the next 40 – 60 minutes. With that said, BMTH gives no fucks in subtlety as they plunge the listener headfirst into the album with this lush synth-driven track filled with heavily reverbed and clean vocals. Yes, clean. This album has mostly clean vocals so the heavy music fans might be disappointed with that.

The band sings “Don’t be afraid to wonder, don’t be afraid to be scared. It should never be a prison”. Which I’d like to take as the band telling their audience to give the album a shot without boxing it with their own subjective and expected opinions of how the band’s music should be.

MANTRA

Following the soft intro, the band does a 180° turn and gives us a rumbling intro for the album’s lead single “Mantra”. The opening lead guitar riff, despite being less heavier and complex than their older riffs, still packs a punch that reminds the listener that the band hasn’t completely turned away from their heavier roots.

The verses are sung in clean vocals with a fairly simple melody and a droning guitar riff trailing behind it. Ambient elements give the 2nd verse a fuller sound as it catapults the song into the chorus.

In typical BMTH fashion, the chorus sounds like a soaring stadium-anthem. By this point, it’s clear that BMTH is focusing on being more melodic than heavy in this album.

NIHILIST BLUES

Clocking in at 5 minutes and 27 seconds, Nihilist Blues sounds way too long and EDM dance-pop for comfort. It definitely sounds like something someone can play and dance to in a club. The pre-choruses are crazy catchy though which will stay playing in your head for quite a while so be prepared for that.

Grimes is featured on this track which was a brilliant choice. She brought fluid energy into the song unlike most collaborations where the featured artist feels like they’re just singing ON TOP of the song instead of singing in it, if that even makes sense.

While I wont be actively pursuing to play this track, I do appreciate the tastefulness of it’s treatment by having a cohesive presentation of nihilism in both the lyrics and music. Oli’s writing style in this song perfectly presents the stream of consciousness of someone who understands that existence in this floating rock probably doesn’t really matter in the greater scheme of things, so they might as well dance away their internal despair.

IN THE DARK

In The Dark dives straight to the 1st verse after a very sparse vocal intro. The vocal melody for the verse is definitely pop. Boyband-pop. At this point, if you’re still angry over BMTH going soft, maybe it’s time to turn the music off and find another band to listen to. However, if you’ve gotten over that fact and decided to listen to the album with fresh ears, the song despite being predictable is still pretty catchy.

The song is supported with lightly distorted guitars and synths as well as programmed percussion peppered in for spice (the whole album is though so don’t be surprised as we continue listening on our way).

WONDERFUL LIFE

The 3rd single of the album, this song will be liked by the old-school fans who wants something on the heavier side.

The song enters with distorted muted notes which Oli sings on top of with quite an awkward sung-spoken melody which then powers through with a very sludgy and thick slow riff that can make you bang your head and close your eyes. The booming breakdown feels thunderous as you absorb the bass and pounding drum beat. I honestly love this breakdown so much despite it being so basic. It has quite a cathartic feel to it.

Oli sings the melodic chorus while still retaining heaviness which BMTH has perfected during their Sempiternal era. The song is about finding joy in the mundane parts of life despite having a dark and nihilistic view on it which I think the song presents perfectly by the band by treating the song in a way that makes it sound dark, heavy (at times), and fun at the same time.

Dani Filth features on the song’s bridge. While I personally would have liked this song to be heavier, Filth delivers his signature gurgling vocals that still sound tasteful and musical. The bridge builds up into another round of that breakdown which sounds just so satisfying. If my ears had hypothetical mouths, they would slurp down this part like soup.

The song closes with a wall of an epic resounding brass section that definitely hits the right spot.

OUCH

The listener is given a break from the previous track’s heaviness with this smooth and lush track. I honestly prefer this track over the album’s intro. It’s been given a proper electro-pop treatment. Heavily synth-driven with a bass and drum beat, this song might be easily overlooked by most but a closer listen proves that this song is pretty golden.

The production was clearly done meticulously. Despite being a short track, none of it makes it feel like a filler song. The lyrics “I know I said you could drag me through hell but I hoped you wouldn’t fuck the devil” is a very direct and genius response to the song’s earlier song “Follow You” from their album That’s the Spirit.

MEDICINE

Medicine is of my favorite tracks in this album. I got inspired after doing an analysis of a metal cover of this song which then made me want to review the album as a whole so, here I am.

This single made a lot of eyebrows raise upon it’s release due to how “soft” it is. Personally, I’m glad BMTH made the song’s production soft and poppy because it fits the overall melody, lyrics, and mood of the song. The expected blasting guitars which used to be a signature BMTH sound was toned down and made to take the back seat in this track which is great because a lot of background elements got to breathe and shine as a result.

The track feels fresh from the band’s approach and I think if they produced it in their expected metalcore sound, the song would just sound like every other uninspired core band song out there. Referring back to the metal cover of this song that I listened to, I hated how the cover completely threw away the vocal melody and replaced it with generic plain screams instead which honestly didn’t match the guitars. The vocals on the cover felt like it was just slapped on top of the music without taking into consideration how important a fluctuating melody was needed to make this song sound interesting due to it’s short lyrics and very simple phrasing.

Compared lyrically to other BMTH songs, I think this track falls a bit short by having repetitive verses. For some though, especially audiences who don’t really care about lyrics, just the mere production of this track will be enough for it to be a satisfying listen.

Overall, the song is catchy and if BMTH continues stepping forward into pop territory, I hope they use this song as their benchmark.

SUGAR HONEY ICE & TEA

Another heavier song on the album, Sugar Honey Ice & Tea is a track that feels closer to That’s The Spirit’s simple rock and roll riffs over Sempiternal’s more complex “-core” riffs.

Fans that prefer a more “rock band” sound, will like this since electronic elements are pretty sparse in this track. Oli has less processed vocals and even does some yells in it. It does have a weird falsetto part in it’s chorus though which might not suit to everyone’s taste.

The lyrics are pretty clever and despite having a pretty “in your face” riff supporting it from behind, it’s sung in a very poppy melody. Like Wonderful Life, the song sounds heavy but bright and upbeat. The song presents how everyone is full of Sugar Honey Ice & Tea in a lighter manner than how most bands would probably present it.

WHY YOU GOTTA KICK ME WHEN IM DOWN?

This song is another song that will surprise listeners over how different it is from what’s expected of BMTH. With a hip-hop beat and rap-like melody, this song is definitely an urban track. I honestly don’t know how to review this track. It’s not a bad song, I guess I’m just confused over it.

It has a nice booming chorus though and I think it’s a great representation of how the band literally gives no flying fucks over people’s expectations and they will do whatever the fuck they want. I also appreciate of how unafraid the band is regarding experimenting with new sounds.

FRESH BRUISES

This is another interlude song. Like Ouch, it’s a very electronic-driven track. Unlike Ouch though which is too short, this track feels too long as it fails to grab one’s attention due to it’s repetitiveness that makes the song tedious to listen to after a while.

MOTHER TONGUE

The song gives a similar musical vibe to Medicine. The main difference is that this song is definitely a sweet love song in contrast to Medicine’s bitter angst. This song makes one appreciate again the fact that the band went softer for this album because the production sounds so spot on. I think they will have a hard time producing this kind of fragile vibe if they produced this track the way they did songs in their heavier albums.

Mother Tongue sounds delicate which feels just right along with the lyrics. The song starts to pick up as it enters another anthemic chorus. This is definitely a song to sing your heart out to during a roadtrip with the windows down.

HEAVY METAL

BMTH being known to be sarcastic blokes made me expect that this song will definitely NOT be heavy metal. I was correct. Basically the song is a song with hip-hop verses with a heavy rock chorus. Just like with Why You Gotta Kick Me When I’m Down, I also don’t really know how to review this track properly and fairly.

One thing to appreciate about this track is again, Oli’s direct and straightforward lyrics as the band address the fans who could not get out of the band’s heavier eras and refuses to acknowledge that the band has to grow out of it’s core roots eventually.

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY

The opening strings of this song already makes the listener expect some epic shit to go down. However, the band overturns that by having an acoustic guitar come in with Oli as he starts singing the first verse. This tuned down approach continues up until the end of the 3rd verse in which the string section comes in again with more power as the song transitions into it’s roaring interlude. Things calm down again as the band enters the 4th verse. More electronic elements slowly fill up the space to create a richer soundscape.

Lyrically, this song can easily be put with Sempiternal or There Is A Hell. Perhaps the best written song in the album, Oli outpours his fear over the impending loss of his friend with lyrics as raw as it can be.

I personally think the band could have made the last chorus or outro more powerful and roaring to make it feel like a proper album closer. However, with a great mix of orchestral parts and distorted guitars this song is still a good final track for this album.

As Oli sings about his anxieties over an expected death of a friend, the song displays the ending, both as an album and as a metaphor over our own finality as human beings.

Final thoughts:

The album is a good listen for anyone who’s unafraid to welcome experimentation from this band. Sykes and Fish shine in this album as producers and singers respectively.

With catchy hooks and riffs, this album will be memorable to anyone who enjoys pop music on the aggressive side of the spectrum.

Songs to listen to:
Heavy songs = Wonderful Life, Sugar Honey Ice Tea,
Soft songs = Mother Tongue, Medicine

Least liked songs: Nihilistic Blues, Why You Gotta Kick Me When I’m Down

Lyrics: 7
Musicality: 7.5
Production: 9

OVERALL RATING: 7.8