My Social Orbit – Line of Least Resistance (2019)
Documenting events through music to create a sonic snapshot of time is something that My Social Orbit is amazingly great at. Using their own indie-rock style, they write songs about love, daydreaming, plastic people and alcoholics that are relatable yet unique. Last year, they released Line of Least Resistance, an album that brings together eight tracks of varying sounds.
To create this album, Oli Boots (electric guitar), Aaron Clarkson (bass guitar), Richard Holman (bass guitar, keys), Graeme Lawson (electric guitar, vocals), Pierre Shepard (guitars, vocals, keys) and Tim Trotter (drums, guitar, vocals, keys) set out with one purpose in mind. That was simply to create varied and interesting indie-rock songs. Whether they have achieved this goal hinges on the soundscape of their album.
Their collection of tracks opens with ‘The World Spins Round’ and its driving acoustic guitar. There is this great folk feel to the song that really shines in the vocals. It has a Fleetwood Mac vibe to the vocals at times. The drumbeat gets your leg moving to it as the lyrics talk about the 2008 financial crash and the devastation it brought.
‘Line of Least Resistance’ is very different to the opening with this atmospheric opening that soars over you. The guitar also has a melancholic tone which matches the sadness of the vocals and lyrics. Lyrically, there is a link between this track and ‘The World Spins Round’ as it looks at the emotions of those suffering after the crash. The sombre tone of this song is wonderful and gives a different perspective on things.
Another change in tone comes with ‘Poor Ewe’ which lures you into a false sense of the track at the start. The opening is very folk, but this changes to an indie-rock track all about the pressures of conforming. There are driving beats and great harmonisations that you have not heard on the album yet. The lyrical structure is also different and really makes this song quite enjoyable.
While ‘Legal Bank Job’ brings back the driving acoustic guitar, it is paired with this electric guitar line that soars over you. The vocal performance on this track is wonderful as it soars but then dips at times. The driving melody led by the guitars creates this buzz to the song that is an opposing force to the slower vocal performance. While this could result in a disjointed track, it strangely works together.
The next track is ‘Festival Fantasy’ which has a gentle feeling to it. You expect this song to play while you sit in a meadow which is primarily due to the acoustic guitar and vocals. The lyrics transport you to a festival and considers some of the people you meet there. The crashing cymbals add a little something to the track that makes it wonderfully different to the rest of the album.
‘Song For Brian’ has these notes in the opening that grab your attention and lead you to the vocals. The deep drum gets your head moving as you are led through an interesting vocal performance that has these long notes that are strangely great to listen to. This song looks at living with an alcoholic and the arrangement plays with the subject matter perfectly. There are abrupt stops to the music and flowing melodies that mirrors the ebb and flow of life.
There is a darker tone to the start of ‘An Ocean Between Us’. The smashing drums and vocals continue this sombre tone as you are led to an undulating melody. This tone highlights the feelings of missing someone laid out in the lyrics. The vocals have this far-away feeling to them which works very well with the subject matter. It also adds an interesting tone to the song as the melody is front and centre instead of the vocals.
The album ends with ‘Command Prompt’ which is very sinister love song. The opening is light with this light tapping beat that leads to equally light vocals. However, the lyrics are sinister and not something you would really expect in a love song. While the lyrics make you uneasy from the start, it is the chorus that really brings the sinister nature of the track home. The change in the melody and the lyrical content with the dripping vocals make you worry about the subject of the song.
My Social Orbit achieves their goal of creating a collection of varied and interesting indie-rock songs with Line of Least Resistance. Not only do the tracks cover different subject matter, but they are melodically different. There are soaring notes on certain songs and sinister beats on others. While varied, together they form a wonderful album that keeps you engaged from start to finish.
Find out more about My Social Orbit on their Facebook and Spotify.
