After apparently living underneath a rock this entire time, I was finally turned on to Timeflies and was urged to take a listen to their new album by a friend of mine (Here's your shoutout, Dawson.) With the release of their new EP, "One Night," the feel-good, electrorap duo-or as they describe themselves, the "Electro Hip Hop Pop Dub-Something"-put together a compilation of six tracks to make for a pleasantly surprising and thoroughly enjoyable experience.
The sophomore effort opens with the title track "One Night," as lead vocalist Cal Shapiro sings with an almost distant croon, immediately wearing his heart on his sleeve and baring his feelings to the audience.
He says, "Where are we now/ I can't calm down, I'm dreaming/ They scream so loud/ I don't know how I'm breathing." These emotions feel so raw and desperate (something that I haven't usually found to be characteristic of electro-anything music). Already this mystic atmosphere is painted in the listener's mind - bright, vivid, and painful.
With this, Timeflies makes a very clear case as to why they've captured the attention of listeners all over (and myself as a late arrival to the party): beautiful, haunting lyrics by Shapiro and pensive guitar strings by producer Rob Resnick, which evolve into some fist-pumping synthesizers against the repeated "I need one night!" and boom-claps that really do bring excitement and a multifaceted quality to the track. Mind you, this is just my first impression after the first track.
Immediately after is a complete switch-up, with a shoe-in dorm party song "Swoon." All the most likeable qualities of a good party song are alive and well in "Swoon," with rhythmic blasts of the synthesizer against strings currently making me bouncing in my seat, bobbing my head to the almost smooth whisper, "Let me see you swoon."
With that said, there is no definite categorization of this project as a whole: this is not a "party" album, nor is it exclusively "chill" or otherwise. The inability to limit this to one adjective is where the beauty of this project lies (which shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, seeing as how it is simply an EP): This is easily a project that could appeal to many people, for virtually any mood.
As a first-time listener, I'm immediately sold on Timeflies, as they seem to go against the grain of any typical genre of music - they're not too simplistic and solely bent on being catchy, as average electro music is; they don't drone on and clash horribly with the background harmony, or mangle attempts at melody as how hip-hop sometimes ends up being; and they certainly do not seem to produce the wrangled cacophony that dub-step might give rise to.
Their self-description as "Electro Hip Hop Pop Dub-Something" is precisely what they are. And if you scratch your head at that, then I believe that's the point: They aren't any one genre, but a wonderful combination of so many, indescribable as a category.
Even as an EP, surprisingly there's no sign of any filler songs, only six quality songs, each a standout in its own right.
Timeflies' sophomore effort "One Night" EP is a very solid project, one that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that made me a fan after one time through. It is unlike any of the electro/pop music out there now, in the best sense.
I would be remiss in my duty as Scene writer if I didn't end on either a witty or cheesy note, so allow me this: Let yourself listen to the first song in "One Night" EP, and watch the time fly.
