Petro is the alias of Harley, a musical artist based out of Sydney, Australia. This year has been a busy one for Harley. He released his first album earlier this year entitled Club Insincere. And has been spending the past year studying for a diploma in music performance to continue to grow in his music and expand his horizons for genre experimentation. The year also saw the release of Harley’s second album Love’s Dead, a huge undertaking of 15 tracks that explores the often bereft themes of love through three segments.
When I saw the album title, I was not too shocked by the statement. While artists focus on all aspects of love from its beginning stages, love at first sight and the first moments you share, a large number of them also cover the moments when love starts to fizzle from the beginning signs of disinterest to resentment and then finally the dissolving of a relationship. In this body of work, Harley focuses on the latter. From what I can see, Love’s Dead grasps the darker side of love whether it be “platonic, romantic or even self-love” with the tracks engaging audiences in a soft, mellow ride through affection’s more treacherous path. Without wasting any time, Love’s Dead dives right into its dire themes with “Are You Out There,” where airy synths sound out with the trickling in of keys. The sound is atmospheric. Harley’s vocals come in awash in melancholy. The mourning tones could be felt in his voice right from the start. The stark sounds of piano and Harley’s vocals makes for a startling first impression. The music felt overall very soft and sad. A somber piano melody makes itself known on the beginning of “In My Veins.” The tune is melodic followed up with the chilling sounds of cello. The sounds of strings add a touch of underlining drama to the track. The song felt soothing and soft. I greatly enjoyed the choral-like background vocals. A poignant piano melody meanders for a bit in the intro of “Again.” The vibes overall felt very hushed and expectant. A departure from the previous section, the title track “Love’s Dead” felt more rock-based. The guitar makes its first appearance here. The movement to the track changes up mid-way with a more electrifying feel with a fuller band vibe energizing the sounds. The second half of the song felt more enlivened and dynamic musically. “I HATE YOU” is powered by guitars and piano. The instruments lend a compelling vibe. The vocals are distorted by effects and this gave a robotic-like feel to the recording. This felt like a darker track with grittier sounds. Covering rock, indie rock and grunge, this felt like the heaviest song thematically. Rumbling bass and guitar riffs are heard on the ethereal sounding “Drowning.” The vocals come in with reverberating results. They echo the disparaging message of the lyrics. On “Lately,” piano and Harley’s voice sung in falsetto sets the tone to this moody piece. The sounds of cello are a nice accompaniment. Next, more beats give this music a move moving feel. The electronic nodes add another pressing element. On “I’ll Still Wait,” the electronic beats and synths create a soundscape that sounds like something from a Tim Burton film. The movement of music here seemed more exciting and expansive as the artist explores more electronic-driven sonic environments. The sounds of a haunting piano melody play itself out on “Bleed.” The strands roll across the song, meandering for a bit. Next, some beats struts in. The sounds of strings add a dash of theater. The music keeps to the melancholy and somber vibes. Harley keeps the frequency going with this lush and airy closer. Split into three sections, the album covers three separate products of love: tracks 1-5: Loneliness, tracks 6-10: Bitterness, tracks 11-15: Fear. Each section is designed to have a distinct sound both sonically and tonally. Harley uses the different movements to further explore different modes of music-making as well as expanding his palette genre-wise. And I think he is successful in doing so.. Harley attaches interludes as a marker connecting the movements. I think this was a nice addition. It allowed for a smoother transition from idea to idea. The album overall felt very together and cohesive in that sense. In terms of the music, the sounds were soft and melancholy, based primarily on synths. Harley also goes on to experiment with more organic instruments such as piano, guitar, bass and cello. In terms of tools, Harley uses a wide array of instruments from technological to acoustic in rendering his sound. Because mood and atmosphere play a large factor in this album, the soundscapes wouldn’t feel out of place in a movie somewhere. The album felt very cinematic and I could see a filmmaker picking this up to use in the soundtrack. For those who enjoy dark, haunting sonic landscapes revolving around mood and feeling or for those heading into the ambience genre for the first time, Love’s Dead is something worth enjoying with your headphones on. It looks like the artist is only getting started and I look forward to seeing what new exciting things he dreams up next.
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