Brisbane’s FOREVR demand our full attention with their grandiose double-album opus Classics and Death is a miracle. Each album aims to display a different side of the band’s uniquely dense and experimental approach to synthpop. But what show up in spades across both records are FOREVR’S meticulously detailed production, powerful sonic intensity and dreamy melodies.
Classics creates an artfully dark world that consists of drugged lullabies and gothic disco floor-fillers. FOREVR successfully turn pop music on its head here by overloading the senses with off-the-wall instrumentation, which brings in distorted guitars and bright synths kept in cohesion by heavy, explosive drumming. FOREVR can give off an appeasing tone, as in ‘True’, an addictive 90s alt-rock inspired jam with a strong groove and a guitar riff that gets etched in your brain upon first listen. The band can also adopt a gloomy expression in the slower tracks such as the contemporary R&B-influenced lead single ‘Columbus’ and the dissonant, ominous opening track ‘Floodlight’. The raw experimentation, appeasing vocals and colourful production that fuel Classics make for a very progressive pop album; as abstract as it is well-composed.
FOREVR successfully turn pop music on its head here by overloading the senses with off-the-wall instrumentation.
Death is a miracle shoots for a much more dance-y, nightclub-oriented vibe, mixing in a more trap-style flavour of alternative R&B/hip-hop. This disc puts an emphasis on atmosphere, with tracks such as ‘Halogen Glass’ and ‘Petriocha’ making for serious highlights. FOREVR use this stylistic change to drum up evocative new moods and continue to show off their creativity with a bounty of rich sounds and textures: the spacey ‘Forgive’, for example, hits with a veritable wave of cymbals and strings. With this broad sonic palette, Death is a miracle feels like an electronic synth-soaked sketchbook filled with colourful, engaging experiments. You start off with gentle, eerie R&B and then seamlessly progressing into some bass heavy, thumping tech-house driven synth-pop in the closing tracks. What’s impressive is that FOREVR manage to pack Death is a miracle in a fairly cohesive package with their knack for layered soundscapes and an overarching languid feel in the vocal melodies.
FOREVR can have your mind meandering between being mellowed-out and utterly dumbfounded by their music. Their versatility allows them to be both the soundtrack to a raging nightclub or a lonesome late-night journey into the internet rabbit hole.
FOREVR’s dual debuts Classics and Death is a miracle are out now through Super Duper.
