The guys have found a way to defy genres by merging folk sentimentality and winding indie-pop construction, with rock reminiscent of aughts-era alternativism, an aesthetic similar to that of Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness. As we have stated before, their “[exhibition of] passionately soaring vocal melodies against thematically textured production, wrapped up in a soulful lyrical display of emotional vulnerability…[is] a nice blend of interweaving electronics and acoustics,” which is incredibly developed and defined through the course of the 12 song album.
The new material on the album carries the same sense of driving yet tranquil melodic texturing, where the instrumental construction aurally conceptualizes the pathos of the lyrical thematics. In other words, the combination of atmospherics and symphonic tendencies contribute the cinematic imagery that every song evokes. You can really feel the fervent performative energy from start to finish, an incredible collection of easing and refreshing melodic sympathy.
The general arc of the album seems to examine love using idiomatic metaphors, by embodying those cerebral feelings of passion into a more accessible and tangible article, through use of the most emotional and intimate medium—music. That becomes evident in tracks such as Someone (streaming below) and To Have and To Hold, as both tracks deconstruct the sentiments and language of love and rebuild in such a way that the listener gets carried away lovestruck by the fluttering and visceral sublimity of the instrumentals.
The album makes you fall in love with CHORD, as you’ll be thinking about them, their vocals, and their charm all day after just one listen. They really capture the insight of love at first sight, both in terms of them writing about it so precisely, and the way they connect to listeners so simply. Buy yourself a copy of Ode To Scarlet, and have your “heart beat unconditionally” for the harmonious CHORD.