The catalyst that started To Feel Love by Loz KeyStone was a deeply personal one. According to the artist “I started writing To Feel Love in the final weeks of my dad’s life in the summer of 2014 following a two year battle with lung cancer.” He also states that “To Feel Love became a document of losing him, the effects of that loss, and the places in which I looked for comfort. Essentially, it became an album about sex and death.”
I’ll admit it’s a little difficult to critique a piece of art that has such personal significance to the artist. Luckily, there wasn’t much I didn’t enjoy. One thing I’ll say off the bat that I thought could be improved was the production. There were a lot of layers of instrumentation and there were times where it seemed a tad muddy and I had a hard to making out the vocals. The one thing that really stood out was that I felt the artist had a very original sound on his hands. I was reminded of Perfume Genius at points and a number of new wave bands. The album is synth heavy but doesn't rely on stagnant presets. There are filter sweep, resonant filters, etc that are manipulated. You could also say some of the songs fit into an experimental dance category. I thought the vocals were exceptional. There was a lot of emotion in his often breathy vocals. It fit like a glove with the music. The album starts with “You Don’t Have to Live Your Life Like He’s Watching You” which immediately peaked my interest. The atmosphere and beat sound great and you will most likely notice my comparison to Perfume Genius on this track. “Nothing Wrong” was where the artist got my attention. The song unfolds in a unique and unexpected way. I thought the breakdown around the two-minute mark was very inventive. The song is warm, haunting and melancholy. “Sirens” is another success and perhaps has the most catchy, infectious vocal melodies. “Hospice (sleep)” was mostly white noise and ambient sounds. The sound certainly reflects the title but I actually thought this track could have been a little more effective at about a minute. This song sort of repeats with “Hospice (breathe) which I have to admit felt a little odd and took away from the song structured tracks. Between those two songs is an excellent number entitled “Livid.” The other highlight was the last track “Speaking In Sentences” which comes in at around eight- minutes long. It goes all over the place in a good way and is extremely dynamic and unique. To Feel Love is a great album. I had some minor issues along the way but there is so much to enjoy in the details as well as the hooks. As a songwriter myself who writes songs based on personal experience I think it's safe to say that the creation of this album was a cathartic experience and I think that emotion comes through in the music.
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