Rachel Bobbitt and Justice Der's debut full length "When This Plane Goes Down" is full of raised bar surprises

AP Track Review

The track Beneath Our Feet (Exit Music) by Rachel Bobbitt and Justice Der (based out of Canada) is a free and easy (and spirited) chill track from the unpretentious sort of jazzy pop duo. Like a lot of Bobbitt and Der's collabs there is a woozy mellowness to the composition but the sort of jazz meets anti chamber pop aesthetic is almost disarming in such a lovely way. In the 60's it might be called a hippie vibe and I don't know what it might be called in today's over genre'd times but it certainly flies below the radar and with the subtlety here it pierces the pop veil and feels so intimate and real (a lot in the indie pop vein is not). Beneath Our Feet (Exit Music) is the very last track from the pair's debut full length "When This Plane Goes Down" and while other tracks all share in the nuanced chilly pop vibe bordering on what one might call sadjazzcorepop (oh not), other tracks feel much more dramatic and heavy like the opener Swimming Pool which moves from super mellow sad pop to an alt folk heaviness in an almost Pink Floyd-esque vibe, if the Floyd was super mellow (and young). Guitarist and co-writer Justice Der steals the vocal duties on the track Iris Road (a sort of weird indie pop experiment) and on Marry The Apathy where he proves he can croon and strum out minor 7th (or 9th) dissonance so well but vocally, Bobbit is the show stealer throughout (I particularly have fallen in love with Like A Bull, Passed Out Trees and, the all too brief, Stall and while I say Bobbit steals the vocal show, she could not do so with the counterpoised guitar accompaniment that Der provides. He is so skilled, I think naturally, not going the typical, easy route with his guitar tones and directions. 

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Robb Donker



THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

Musicians Rachel Bobbitt and Justice Der have released their first full length collaborative album, When This Plane Goes Down... The young, Toronto-based duo wrote many of the tracks remotely during their summer break from college, reflecting a transitional time in each of their lives. Bobbitt's serene vocals and blissful harmonies paired with Der's soulful guitar creates a chill, but dynamic masterpiece of sound. The album is now available to stream or download on digital music platforms worldwide.

When This Plane Goes Down... reflects childhood nostalgia and encapsulates the change and cycle of relationships and mortality from adolescence to adulthood. The title draws upon occurrences flying to and from home over the past few years. "The experience of converging and diverging with other passengers for a brief but concentrated period of time served as an inspiration for a larger concept," the duo explains. "Having a connection and moment with a person or experience in life can easily be compared to the experience of meeting someone on a plane trip. They can come into your life and then leave it for a long time." Co-written by the duo and mixed/mastered by Der, the self-produced album is presented independently and features Stephen Bennett on the drums.

Bobbitt and Der come from solo backgrounds where each have released their own EPs: Months to Fall by Bobbitt and Nostalgic For Things to Come by Der. After connecting at Humber College in Toronto, the two noticed an instant musical chemistry that resulted in the release of two cover tracks, "Forrest Gump" by Frank Ocean and "Japanese Denim" by Daniel Caesar, which have collectively garnered over 150,000 listens on Spotify. Combined, they have over 175,000 monthly Spotify listeners. Following the success of those releases, it was only natural for the two musicians to collaborate on a full-length record that would hone in on both of their musical strengths and abilities while simultaneously providing a spotlight for one another.