Atoll Blues and the melancholy walking dream of "Serotonin"

 

"I find myself falling..."

I found myself gravitating towards the expansive surreal melancholia of "Serotonin" by Atoll Blues, the solo project of Glasgow indie musician Sam L. Brown (Lucid Hound), almost right away. The opening fluid bending notes and chill progs fall away to Brown's sad vocal lilt. The vocal aesthetic, pushed falsettos spiraling into an acute hallucination made more askew by ghosted vocal layers effected as if the voice was playing through and old warbled radio. These off-kilter directions on one had sound beautiful and on the other, add a disturbing though engagin quality. At times, the chord progressions move in surprising ways as in not knowing there is a step down while walking and I revel in those kinds of moments. 

Brown penned the song last autumn as the pandemic lockdown closed in on him. Of the song he shares:  “I was trying to encapsulate the process that has been constantly ravaging my mind in this strange time. I was especially low when I started writing the songs for this EP as the nights were growing slow and long and the days dimly grey. I began to fixate more on my fears than usual and ruminate more often in negative thoughts and I think the songs on the EP reflect this. But there is a positive side to it too. This winter has been quite a trip but at least it is now getting lighter again. Things will get easier. For now we must hibernate and do what we can to keep our bodies and our minds healthy and when we eventually emerge from this social slumber we will have a renewed appreciation for so many things we used to take for granted.”

"as night draws in, serotonin draws thin- as the leaves turn brown, I find myself falling- I try not to hit the ground, try--"

"Serotonin" is from Atoll Blues' debut EP "A Mind Tending Towards Disorder".

-Robb Donker Curtius

* * *

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.facebook.com/atollblues/

https://www.instagram.com/atollblues/

Atoll Blues is the solo project of independent musician Sam L Brown who has played on the Glasgow scene for a couple of years with the three-piece psych powerhouse Lucid Hound. Sam has been writing music for almost a decade and many of the songs he has written did not fit the high energy vibe of Lucid Hound, so Atoll Blues was born to showcase these more personal recordings.

art rock, Atoll Blues, "Serotonin", alternative rock, psychedelic rock, Shoegaze / Dream Pop, Glasgow scene, EP "A Mind Tending Towards Disorder",

 youtube,  facebook, amazon, gmail, google, yahoo, yahoo mail, weather, netflix, walmart, ebay, google translate, home depot, usps tracking, translate, craigslist, fox news, google docs, news, google maps, google classroom, robox, cnn, lowes, calculator, amazon prime, paypal, speed test, hotmail, target, google drive, msn, instagram, zillow, twitter, best buy, aol mail, bank of america, wells fargo, maps, hulu, discord, ups tracking, trump, traductor, costco, reddit, indeed, disney plus, you tube, usps, pinterest, thank you coronavirus helpers, espn, etsy, linkedin, facebook login, twitch, doodle for google, nfl, dow jones, fedex tracking, capitol one, chase, aol, kohls, dominos, airbnb, nba, harbor fright, spotify, bling, internet speed test, womens world cup 2019, wayfair, nfl scores, outlook, you, walgreens, finance, entertainment, solitaire, pizza hut, google flights, google scholar, restaurants near me, menards, youtube to mp3, 89 macys, google news, xfinity, face, turbotax, amazon prime video, pandora, timer, yahoo finance, zoom, sports, verizon