Sometimes when you hear a track from an artist, you just know they’ve got it. You may not know what it is but when you’re listening to their music, something just clicks within you, and you just know deep down, that they’ve got a refreshing pool of talent that soon, everyone’s going to want to swim in – Maver is one of those artists.
After sharing three gorgeous lead singles, today Maver has unleashed his sophomore EP ‘Spirals’ upon the world and it’s a collection of tracks that’ll make you feel so many different things at once in the absolute best way.
‘Spirals’ opens with ‘Short Term Memory’, a song that opens with buzzing synths that feel very hard and guttural. Those synths juxtapose the bright atmospherics, glitching samples, and twinkling tones that provide a sweetness to the melody before Maver’s vocals float on in. The production on ‘Short Term memory’ feels both scattered and vibrant at the same time, and right as the lyrics begin to talk about overwhelm, the production suddenly falls into a steadily paced drop with a light beat bouncing over hollow tones, soft atmospherics, and delicate percussion. ‘Short Term Memory’ feels very magical and whimsical, but the guttural synths at the beginning give it a darker undertone, making it feel as if the track is balancing between two worlds – one that’s soft and vibrant, and another that’s harsh and cold.
From here, we move into ‘Damn Sad’, where the atmospherics take on a higher tone and hum above a chopped beat, popping percussion, and sharp samples that feel like they’re being ripped out of the lighter melody. As the vocals come in, the atmospherics dissipate, leaving a quiet and empty space beneath sharp samples, the beat that continues to pop, and warped synths. It’s as if the lighter elements were taken away to expose the harder parts of the production, and how heavy they feel. Soon though, soft high hats are introduced and blended into a drop full of synths and samples quickly crackling like sparklers on a dark night. There’s a chaotic element to them, but they also still feel sweet and innocent. Although the lyrics of ‘Damn Sad’ talk about, well, sadness, there’s also an element of confusion behind the track that makes you wonder how you can feel sad when your ears are being filled with such a fun, frenetic melody?
‘I’m Healing’, a track Maver created with LORA, lightens things up quite a lot. After swimming in a pool of confusion, we then dive headfirst into a series of hollow and misty samples that float between chopped vocals, and a delicate bassline. Then, when the beat hits, we’re transported into a euphoric state, filled with warm atmospherics, hollow percussion, and industrial samples that are softened by echoing synths and LORA’s vibrant vocals. If you’ve ever come out of a dark moment feeling relieved and like you’re floating on air, then you’ll connect with this song on a deep level. It’s incredibly hopeful and feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.
Of course, just as the weight gets removed, it gets placed right back on you with ‘Lazy’, a track that features vocals from jnr. When a song opens with the sound of a CD skipping, followed by a loud sigh of both frustration and exhaustion, you know you’ve got a relatable track on your hands. The melody on ‘Lazy’ is steady, using thick synths behind solid percussion and jnr’s smooth vocals to create a track that feels heavy in a very comforting way. It’s very reminiscent of a day where you know you just don’t have the energy to deal with everything the world wants to throw at you, and so you instead just spend the day laying on the couch, letting everything just wash over you. ‘Lazy’ is a great track for a chilled-out afternoon, or a day where you know you just need to give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing.
Finally, we close out ‘Spirals’ with ‘Lay Down’. Hard tones open the track and ground the slapping percussion, airy samples, warm atmospherics, and bright samples that swoop in before Maver’s vocals take control. There’s a lot of movement to this track, despite its name, with the melody slowly building up to an explosion of heavy, buzzing synths that explode through the otherwise luminous production. It contrasts every other element but adds so much texture to the melody and feels like it’s propelling you somewhere new with immense speed.
There’s so much to experience on ‘Spirals’ and Maver’s talent for emotionally charged production really brings each track to life, giving it its own unique personality and poignancy. I said earlier that Maver just has it, and in this case, what I think it is, is simply an ear for building tracks that are very layered and have contrasting elements that can make you feel different things with every new listen. ‘Spirals’ is an incredible EP that will definitely cement Maver as the one producer everyone should be keeping their eye on.