R.M. Hendrix – Summer Dresses (2021)
I once heard a quote (don’t ask me when or where) that to be happy you must “live your best life”. It’s easier said than done, but R.M. Hendrix understands to be happy you need to accept yourself. Boston-based singer-songwriter merges elements of trip-hop, alternative rock and shoegaze to release his creativity and make you feel a little better. Featured in FV Music Blog, Slug Mag and several online radio stations, Hendrix is engaging with audiences across the globe. As part of his album Shamblegloss, we take a look at the single ‘Summer Dresses’.
Released as both an independent single and as part of the album Shamblegloss, ‘Summer Dresses’ has a strong personality grabbing your attention from the get-go. A mish-mash of various genres, but with a strong post-punk influenced, R.M. Hendrix shows eclecticism and innovativeness as an artist. When he described his sound as “noisy”, that was an understatement. The pounding drums do add steadiness to ‘Summer Dresses’, but it is the hard-hitting guitars that illustrate the full force of his sound.
Suspending one in a hazy soundscape, ‘Summer Dresses’ is otherworldly with a twinge of brutality. With an ebb and flow design, Hendrix uses well-placed crescendos and diminuendos to captivate your senses and take you along a beautiful journey. Impressive distorted guitar solos are prominent with a transition from heavy noise to more soothing, gentler sounds. What I find particularly intriguing is the interspersed post-punk vocals belying the instrumentation adding an ethereal element.
‘Summer Dresses’ does have an aggressive sound but, oddly enough, there is a harmonic flow in the frenzied melody. Penned as a catharsis to being stuck in winter and wanting to get outdoors, the forcefulness seems apt. Elegant with a sense of harshness, ‘Summer Dresses’ is an exquisite sonic representation of pent-up anger and frustration.
For more from R.M. Hendrix check out his official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
