Intriguing, aesthetic and brilliant
Best Friend is Puck’s debut album depicting their attention to interesting production and a novel vocal performance. With influences like Fiona Apple and Aphex Twin, two artists who are the antithesis of each other, the album provides a wide listening experience due to its variety of influences ranging from alternative to experimental pop.
The first track “Trapped” has a simple drum beat and instrumental in order to place the vocals at the forefront. The vocal tone is quite distinct and has a grit to them. The overall vocal performance is incredibly impressive and this is something the listener should be excited for and pay close attention to. The vocal tone is what sets apart this album from other releases in the alternative pop genre. “When The Quiet I Had Feared Finally Came” is a similar track due to its simple instrumental to highlight the vocals. This track reminisces a Fiona Apple song making Puck’s influences quite apparent with its use of live instrumentals and a strong vocal to focus on.
“Hope” is a lot more energetic and it feels empty yet perfectly full. The melodies in this song in particular are incredibly fascinating to absorb and set up for the next track which has a lot more emotion embedded into it. “Woman” has dissonant strings that are mixed beautifully with the piano. The mood the singer creates makes the song extremely touching and feels like the top of the mountain of emotions in this album which the other songs on this album lead up to.
“You” has a ton of ambient influences and Aphex Twin vibes which is quite a switch up from the earlier tracks. The captivating rhythm in the electric drums makes these influences apparent as well as the overall vibe of the song. The next track “Richer” switches back to the same energy the previous tracks with its Fiona Apple and jazz influences. The song is more upbeat compared to the last two tracks but switches up towards the end by turning into a distorted shoegaze-like song.
“Spellspeaker” is another emotional track with a distinct vocal tone. The vocals are paired interestingly with the strings detailing how well thought out and creative the production on this album is. The last song, title track “Best Friend” closes the album with indie rock vibes and extremely beautiful guitars. The overdriven vocals also add to the electric guitar and indie rock sound the artist was going for. The album is mixed extremely well which allows for the creative production to be showcased to the listeners. As the album moves, the consistency and entrancing production remain apparent.
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