An Engulfing New Post-Rock Release from Inventory
A new single release from Inventory certainly comes through with a bit of an underground '90s rock vibe, and I really got little bouts of nostalgia listening to it, simply because I grew up with a lot of this stuff.
They really nail the soundscape by adding elements of vastness and sort of in-room reverb, giving the air of a live performance in a certain light.
These effects come through a lot of the time with the guitars and how the tones feel. The whole thing has elements of dream rock as it drifts and flows, and you can hear that there is absolutely some emotional backbone coming through a lot of the time.
One of the reasons this track has a spacious feel is because of the drums. The snare and the kick are really big and give that in-room feel a lot of presence.
So, those drums really fill the space and add just a hint of drive, but nothing over the top. The whole point of the song is that it has that fluency to it. It feels a little bit distant.
The guitar tone has a bit of a gritty distortion to it. It's not overdone, either. This has a balance to it, which the entire song actually contrives to.
"No Design" has an amazing soundscape that is meant to be slightly engulfing, which it absolutely is.
There are hints of dark overtones, but mostly this comes from those emotional elements that push through.
The vocals certainly help that as well because they have this sort of classic '90s rock sadness in their inflection. This band pays a lot of attention to the little nuances and details that really give the song an aesthetic.
They wanted a certain sound to come through, and I think that they nailed what they were going for.
It's a track that's got layers, textures, and tones that sort of invite you along as they set the mood for the lyrics that tell a story.
The reason the song has that mood is that, lyrically, the track is a little bit about things changing between people or in life. Sometimes over time, situations or people change. They don't always do it on purpose, but you still kind of feel a little bit of a loss from that.
Sometimes it can be kind of sudden, but other times it spans a stretch of time when you finally look back and notice that things are different.
The whole thing is really just about change. It's about feeling some of the emotional charge behind how life changes around you and how you have to adapt to those changes, whether you were part of causing them or not.
I have found this to be a really personal kind of sentiment, but it's also very universal.
This is because it happens to everybody. Everyone's life changes.
Change is one of the biggest things you can count on in life, whether you want it to happen or not.
So, all in all, this track really displays some of that heaviness that certain kinds of change cause you to feel inside. Again, it doesn't matter if you notice it right away or over time. You still feel that heaviness because when you look back, sometimes you wish things were like they were before.
The bass guitar tone is absolutely perfect. There's this little rattle to it; it's got a thin kind of high-end, but a fat low end as well, and this also really helps bring back that underground '90s rock soundscape I was mentioning earlier.
There are certain points in the song where you can hear that bass guitar really come through, and during those sections, the guitars do these cool sort of shimmery notes, and they trickle down over that bass guitar, creating a very unique atmosphere during those moments.
The vocals are kind of heartfelt. There's a certain elegance to the way the whole thing is performed vocally, and I feel like at times, although those vocals tell the story and give that sentiment, they are used almost like instruments themselves.
It's a very melodically thriving piece of work, but it's got a somber underbelly to it.
It's like a chamber pop/post-rock single that covers a lot of ground and gives you a lot to chew on textually.
You definitely do get swallowed up by it, and I feel like this is certainly something that anyone who grew up listening to some of that kind of rock during the '90s or even early 2000s will fall right in love with.
Again, I'm not positive they were aiming exactly for that sound, but you can hear the slew of influences these guys hold close to their hearts shining through in different moments of the track.
All in all, it's super consistent, cohesive, and gives you that sort of immersive and robust atmosphere that you can soak in as it plays through.
I suggest listening to this one with headphones on so you can really take all of that in.
Keep in mind, what I mentioned earlier about the sentiment of the song is just how I interpreted it. Others may take it a little differently, but for me, that element of the song was pretty loud and clear. It spoke volumes because I can understand where it was coming from.
However, see how you interpret the song. Pop those headphones on, listen to this track, and see how it affects you.
Remember where you heard it first.
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