I hope I don’t ever hear the phrase “It’s an evolution, not a revolution” ever again. I admit to throwing it around boardroom meetings back in the day, but that cliche is so 2011. Still, there is a fundamental truth to it. Earnest and honest transformation comes with time, experience, and above all else, patience.
Never ones to play with platitudes or overly formulaic music, Braids are moving into 2023 with their new album, Euphoric Recall, and latest single, “Evolution.” The song is a musical expression of the “pursuit of the individual self,” according to Braids’ singer/guitarist Raphaelle Standell-Preston, “which comprises all realms of human emotion, is sweetened with the intention and act of patience from ourselves, from those that we love and those who love us.” The song’s video is the work of Nima Navab, an artist whose interest in architecture and design examines “the role of art and technology in enhancing both intimate and large-scale public interactions.”
I won’t even pretend to understand what a “custom-trained Stable Diffusion model” is or what it does, but Navab used it to create the visuals based on the images and photography Melissa Gamache assembled for Euphoric Recal’s album artwork. The result is an intoxicating wide-screen slide through the minutia of Gamache’s work. The fine details of indiscriminate flora whiz by in time to Braid’s syncopated beats and easy synth swells. A revolution? Not so much, but “Evolution” is evidence of continued experimentation in sound and vision from Braids.
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