VGmates’ ‘In Black and White’ Album: A Haunting Reflection on War and Resilience.
In Black and White is a very personal and emotional album by Australian alternative/art rock band VGmates, which comprises six compelling melodies. It is no longer only about music but also about a sound diary of pain, resilience, and rebellion against war. The album evokes a world based upon three brutal years of conflict in Ukraine, where moral shades of gray no longer hold ground and only victims and aggressors, survival, and destruction exist.
"Black and White World"
The opening track sets the tone for the album that stands against anything else. It puts forth a world suffering at the hands of war, a place where the morally intricate is not considered, where only that which can directly be classified as right and wrong still exists. It combines electronic textures and raw rock instrumentation into a coherent proposition that oozes loss, division, and urgency.
"Pet the Cat"
The ditty is biting satire on a person's choice of ignorance rather than action, and it laments over people's making a habitual affair of doing nothing while indulging in trivial luxuries. The strikingly ironic contrast of this number leaves it high up as one of the standout songs on the album.
"Irreversible"
This is the mournful exception for war, telling about permanent marks left on humanity. Its sadness is matched by the tone of words telling a tragic tale of a world that can go back no further. Subtle elements of more classical instruments such as the duduk and shakuhachi add to the song’s pathos.
"Darkness" (Instrumental)
A grand, intentionally wordless piece called Darkness lets its same hauntingly expressive orchestration speak for itself. Layered within is the Irish tin whistle, ethereal synths, and solemn strings that conjure a voyage into uncertain depths, a sort of darkness and despair.
"Time is No More"
Time is breathlessly and summarizingly transient, a free-verse elegy celebrating solitude and lost opportunities. The ghostly strains combined with orchestra-cum-rock arrangements create an uncanny sensation that time slips through one's fingers with the looming feeling that real action is to happen before it is too late.
"We Remain"
In closing the album on a note of hope and defiance, "We Remain" celebrates love, art, and the perseverance of the human spirit. It suggests that however much darkness sets upon our existence, there are some things that, hearkening back through memories, ideologies, and defiance, will survive to outlast even the harshest times.
VGmates blurs the deciphering lines in alternative rock, synthesizing electronic beats and live-world instruments for a sensory sublime experience. It makes every song ever so distinct yet thematically unified through its resounding yet polished production. This album is not merely an album; it is an artistic message, commonly expressed to that perfection.
VGmates deeply conceives a record that demands ensnaring attention and contemplation by fusing smooth haunting melodies, spectacularly probing lyrics, and complex arrangements.
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