Sound of Madness - Blue

Yet another band from Karachi, ladies and gentlemen. The name of the tune is 'Blue', and they released it in March earlier this year. This is what they have to say about themselves: 'Sound of madness is passion and it's a journey that will take you into a space where there's no moon and sun, but only melodies filled with madness'. A little too complacent, you say? Perhaps not entirely so. 'Blue' is a nice mix of melody and vocal harmony. Moreover, it manages to exude the kind of melancholy-ridden aura that one finds in Anathema's tunes. The pensive air is accentuated with the help of keys, weeping guitar-bends and background ambience. They've also come up with a video for the tune, which has been uploaded on Youtube. The cover art depicts a female gravitating towards a blue balloon in a somewhat surreal semi-urban landscape.

Uncle Bunkle Jingle Shop - They Talk So Loud

Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly was released in 1961, and remains to this day a bold document depicting a young woman's descent into schizophrenia. The film ends with a conversation between the woman's father and her brother Minus, and a part of it goes something like this:

Minus:      I’m scared Papa. When I sat holding Karen in the old wreck, reality burst open.  Do you understand what I mean?

Father:    Yes, I understand

Minus:    Reality burst open and I tumbled out. It’s like a dream. Anything can happen

Papa, anything.

Father:   I know

Minus:    I can’t live in this new world Papa

The notion of 'reality bursting open' isn't a new one, and has been captured in an interesting manner by Karachi's 'Uncle Bunkle Jingle Shop' in this tune. A Thom Yorke-esue angst ridden plea in an increasingly dissociative, alienating milieu. That's exactly what I hear whenever I listen to this tune. Maybe, i'm just over-analyzing things. The guitars emphasize one motif repeatedly, until it becomes hypnotic. The crescendo at the 3.14 mark is achieved with the help of the aforementioned haunting vocals coupled with a sample depicting young, oblivious children frolicking about in an undefined space. Reality might burst open at any given point, and catch them unawares.