St. Mary, St. Michael – Time Is Standing Still (2020)
Without any outside stimulation, your brain can do some crazy things. As silence bears in on your brain, your mind pushes against it to create hallucinations and full conversations with yourself. This state is the inspiration for St. Mary, St. Michael’s latest EP Time is Standing Still. The three-track EP embraces the silence while pushing against it to create a vivid soundscape.
Tyler Carson, the man behind the music, takes a major leap with the EP which was written and recorded during quarantine. This isolation formed the echo chamber of silence while virtual collaboration with a collection of contributing artists forced the silence into retreat. Each song on the EP tells a tale of the emotions and thoughts created in absence.
The first track ‘Whiskey and Silence’ has a light opening that sets you at ease. Carson’s smooth vocals draw you into the single which looks at being stuck in four walls both literally and figuratively. His performance has this fear threaded through it as he worries about time slipping away without any markers. This is a very relatable track as we have all been through a time like this. There is also a power to this song that grabs you and does not let go.
‘Whispers’ has a very interesting opening that makes you think of someone moving around a room. The piano lines create this solid foundation for the vocals. Below the imagery brought forth by Carson’s vocals is something darker. There is a sense that you losing time or remembering something that was never true. The melody has this expansive nature to it that wraps around you and draws you further into the song.
‘Distance Between Us’ is the last track and also the longest. The progressive building of the opening sets the vibe for the song. There is something more melancholic about this song compared to the others. You can hear a yearning in Carson’s vocals as he laments the distance between him and another. While very sad, this song does give you some hope. There is a change in the melody halfway through the song that completely changes the vibe of the song. The melody becomes upbeat and you know that things will get better. The change makes this almost seem like two separate tracks.
St. Mary, St. Michael looks to embrace the silence of isolation while pushing against it in Time Is Standing Still. While a short EP, it will keep you engaged for much longer than it lasts. Each song tackles a different aspect of isolation with the last giving you some hope for the future.
Find out more about St. Mary, St. Michael on his website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
