A.B. Violet – Merry Go Round (2021)
A.B. Violet had us riding ripples of dream-pop in the uplifting and accepting flow of ‘Only Need Me’. She is taking a different turn with ‘Merry Go Round’ as she almost creates an ode to apathy. Drawing on her own experiences of disordered detachment, she looks to confront this and help others who have to as well. While a heavy topic, it is handled with the graceful ease that Violet is great at.
Using some interesting melodic devices, Violet creates detached spaces within the soundscape to better bring the theme and messaging of the track to life. The struggles she faced detaching herself from certain situations in life and the blur this created are delicately woven into the track making it extremely relatable. Touching on a struggle that many people overlook, the single is one that everyone should listen to and really take in.
The rather dreamy opening tones of ‘Merry Go Round’ pull you into a floating nebulous soundscape where you feel untethered and separated from everything in the world. This is perfect when it comes to the messaging of the track and turns into a new echoing space of dampened tones. Throughout the single, the melody moves from one bubble of space to another with subtle changes to the melodic flow. This showcases the mastery she has over the music she creates. From the dampened tones to the rolling beats and slightly off-kilter tones, Violet has you floating in a space where nothing can touch you.
As you move from melodic space to melodic space, Violet’s vocals twirl around you like ribbons of colour that slip through your fingers. There is an ethereal edge to her performance that flutters into your senses like coloured mist. The spoken-word section of the vocals brings a rather poetic feeling that added poignancy to the track. The rest of the lyrics capture the blur that detachment creates while sending shivers racing down your arms. The interplay between the vocals and melody is beautiful and you can easily listen to this track on repeat.
A.B. Violet has you floating in detached melodic bubbles while her ethereal vocals twirl around you like colourful ribbons of smoke in ‘Merry Go Round’. The melody captures the message of the track by suspending you in a nebulous ether far away from reality. The vocals add to this detachment while bringing a poetic poignancy to the single.
Find out more about A.B. Violet on her Instagram and Spotify.
