Linger – Rise

While the indie rock scene thrives with so many incredible artists and bands delivering some of the finest works this genre has seen in recent years, there’s always a question: does every one of those songs have a significant message worth emotionally connecting to? In the vast sea of songs about love, friendship, various emotions, those music outlets somehow always miss delivering works that pose much deeper philosophical questions. What happens when people who have gone through certain trauma, a difficult period of time, or any other emotional upheaval finally stand on their feet and start living? Do the pain, trauma, and bad thoughts finally vanish, and happiness prevail? Many historical events, such as wars, uprisings, riots, and other moments where people stood united against injustice, might seem victorious, with people smiling and cherishing the moment of freedom, but does the freedom, peace, and normal life arrive after that at all? Linger, a Swedish trio of skillful songwriters, dives deep into the matter by posing questions, examining human emotions and behaviour, and then finding the answer that, although seeming like an appropriate closure, still leaves many open questions. And that’s because the nature of humanity and human emotions is a complex topic that even a series of books wouldn’t solve mankind’s problem. “Rise,” their latest composition, gives hope that someday we will all stand against the oppression and live happily. It carries that certain tone, and while the road may seem paved with thorns, there’s always a hope remaining that mankind will finally come to terms when peace is the only option for a better living.

Beneath such a complex lyric theme, there’s a perfect backdrop that immediately wraps around the listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade. The trio uses many different complementary music genres to create a luxuriant backdrop that perfectly suits the vocal performance. Perhaps indie pop comes to mind first, as the trio incorporated all the fundamental elements of this genre in each segment, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from indie rock, indie folk, and alt-folk, dream pop, cinematic ambient, and more. They use all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to uplift this song to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. As soon as you press play, you’ll hear how the beautiful vocal performance serves as a centerpiece, elevating everything to new heights, commanding attention, conveying a significant message, and guiding listeners on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. The calm, soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, raspy, powerful vocal performance seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything the trio intended to achieve with this song. Besides decorating each segment and orchestration, these vocal harmonies also contribute more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate song structure. In the meantime, the thoughtfully assembled interplay between guitars and synths shapes a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll notice how the interplay between jangly, angular chord progressions delivered on clean, polished electric guitars perfectly pairs with the percussive chord progressions performed on acoustic guitars. Besides guitar works, the trio also included catchy, memorable, engaging, lush themes, melodies, harmonies, and pads delivered on synths that give so much depth and complexity to this song. It’s nearly mindblowing how all those layers articulate together without overwhelming each other, making “Rise” such a remarkable piece of sonic artistry. But the rhythm section plays a significant role here, too. You’ll hear how all those notable, warm-sounding, intricate basslines rumble beneath the guitars and synths, contributing more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while acting as a binding element between the mentioned instrumentations and rhyhtmic patterns. The exceptional drumming performance, based upon half-time beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics, is perfectly tucked beneath all those instrumentations, yet it offers tremendous groove and detail. All those thoughtfully assembled, flawlessly performed, and perfectly accentuated rhyhtmic patterns play a significant role, just like the remainder of the orchestrations.

“Rise” is such a beautiful indie piece that will not only resonate with the fans of the genre but also anyone looking for cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music, performed straight from the heart. With its sharp lyric content, beautiful vocal harmonies, lush guitar and synth works, intricate basslines, and groovy beats, it represents one of the greates indie pop pieces in recent years. You should immediately include this masterpiece on your music radar. Do not miss it!