Sometimes the purpose of listening to music is to escape to another universe — Brisbane-based four-piece Pink Matter offer this on their debut EP Human Error. Human Error takes you on a journey to another galaxy where soulful vocals, story-like lyricism, experimentation of textures and splendidly-layered instrumentals reign supreme.
The EP opens with ‘Dope’, which is a euphoric number that feels like diving into a bewildering dream. The lyric “my head's going out the door” sets the mood for the subsequent tracks that follow ‘Dope’. The perplexing emotion involved in losing track of reality is captured in the song’s frenzied instrumentals, which beautifully recreate this disorienting feeling evident in the lyrics. At approximately the three-minute-mark, the energy turns sultry with the instrumental deepening — whereas the first portion of the track describes the frantic emotion of being lost in another reality and the confusion it entails, the second section of ‘Dope’ portrays the sedative and satisfying feeling of escaping to another place.
This essence of being caught in another universe continues on ‘Giant’. The track feels like you’re floating upon a cloud — despite the dreaminess of the track, the lyrics are compelling in the way they describe a craving for something that’s going to cure the tedious nature of routine. The words “what can I do to shake this feeling / push me out of this atmospheric” appear as a desperate plea.
Listening to ‘Cleo’ feels like lurking in the shadows of a smokey alleyway. The track’s driving percussion stimulates this energy. The title of the track is intriguing — I could be reading too much into it, but the feeling I get from ‘Cleo’ is that they're referring to an entity that’s in a sense mythical. On a literal level, the lyrics appear as if they’re directly referring to a person, but I think ‘Cleo’ is much more complex than that.
‘Judgement’ has the potential of inspiring an array of dance moves that are out-of-this-world. Even though the track has an upbeat energy, the reflective lyrics discuss a mental state that’s been ridden by feelings of paranoia and panic. The words delicately tell a story of losing grip of reality.
The EP ends on a calming note with the ever-so-poetic ‘How Do I’. Listening to 'How Do I' feels like you’re finding your way home to Earth. The track is utterly charming and beaming with light. Ending their EP with ‘How Do I’ is a faultless choice by Pink Matter, beautifully bringing their project full circle.
Pink Matter’s debut EP is a sublime introduction to the storytelling superpowers that they possess. Human Error is a well-executed observation of the fragility of feeling trapped by an arresting and consuming state of mind.
Written by Amy Smolcic (@amysmolcic)
You can listen to Human Error by Pink Matter below:
Pink Matter will be appearing at BIGSOUND 2018, as well as the below shows:
24th August - The Foundry, Brisbane (with First Beige and L.Flora)
15th September - The Tivoli, Brisbane (Supporting Unknown Mortal Orchestra)
21st September - Toowoomba Flower Festival
29th September - The Valley Drive In
More information is available here
