JVLY – inside weather (ep) [review]

There’s something mystical about JVLY’s music. Every time you hear a new project from him it transports you to a world that feels ethereal, yet familiar. JVLY’s new EP “inside weather” has all of these things intertwined in atmospheric synths and a wide variety of hero instruments and unique melodies that capture a beautiful story. This is an EP with heart and it warms you up as soon as you hit play on its opening track.

‘moonpond’ introduces you to “inside weather” with a deep and cool aura. It’s the kind of song you can listen to late at night to help calm you down and ease your mind. JVLY’s whispering vocals hover over vinyl samples and ambient synths that swirl together like smoke and it feels so, so dreamy. As soon as you feel embedded in ‘moonpond’, buzzing synths burst out and fill the song with warmth. It’s almost like you’ve been in a darker place and this warmth is a door opening, leading you into something wonderful.

‘moonpond’ blends seamlessly into ‘tacenda’, a song you may have heard before. For those who are experiencing it for the first time, let the soft vocals and gentle atmospherics wash over you. This track is funky. There’s a groove to it and the light beat leads the winding synths on their way through computerised accents, crunchy samples. ‘tacenda’ is smooth… or maybe suave is a better word.

You don’t usually hear tropical samples with atmospheric synths and heavy, buzzing samples, but that’s what you get on ‘me&her’, the third song on “inside weather” and it’s brilliant. There’s a lot of texture on this track and so many unexpected elements that work so wonderfully together. This is an inventive track, and it’s at this point in the EP where you start to really fall in love with “inside weather”.

Following ‘me&her’ is ‘aporia’, one of the most soulful tracks on the EP. After opening the door to a warmer world in ‘moonpond’ and having the excitement and liveliness build on ‘tacenda’ and ‘me&her’, ‘aporia’ brings you somewhere deeper. The saxophone really takes things up a notch and gives ‘aporia’ and added element of nostalgia. Not everyone may relate the saxophone to reflection, but when its paired with JVLY’s soft vocals saying “I couldn’t have it both ways”, it makes you think. Like ‘tacenda’, ‘aporia’ is funky, with a sleek bassline and wheezing synths sliding across the song’s chorus, but it also feels familiar. It’s comforting, really.

‘potplants’ is a great track because after going somewhere slightly darker, we’re back in a more perky area. Those tropical accents are back with trickling samples that dance over the song’s chorus and honestly, ‘potplants’ is just fun. There’s still a yearning in the song’s lyrics though and that yearning carries over into ‘monsoon’, probably my favourite track on “inside weather”.

The harmonies on ‘monsoon’ are gorgeous. The feel of this track is slightly different from the rest of the EP because there’s quite a bit going on. The harmonies make the track feel more full and the beat is more evident than it has been so far on “inside weather”. The bass track works with funky samples to give the track more energy and although there’s a bit of yearning in the lyrics of ‘monsoon’, it’s like we’ve come to another turning point on the EP.

‘ghostbones’ closes “inside weather” and feels loving, as well a bit haunting. The lyrics are beautiful and are supported by winding synths, ghostly vocals and buzzing synths. This song is great to end the EP on because it feels like the end of something. “inside weather” has taken us on a journey and now we’ve reached the crescendo.

Listening to “inside weather” is really a great experience because you’re listening to a collection of songs they share a lot of elements, but all have their own special energies. You can’t help but fall in love with every single track on this EP because JVLY’s intricate production and soft vocals are so damn inviting, you don’t want to stop listening to his music. I said before that ‘ghostbones’ feels like the end of something. Right now, it feels like a sad ending because there are only seven songs on “inside weather” and it’s is so good, you kind of wish it would keep going on and on forever.