Recommended If You Like: Tennis, Beach House, Best Coast
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Don’t let appearances fool you: Nobody has all the answers to life, regardless of age or wisdom or experience. It takes a lifetime to begin to understand our world, and a few more to start making sense of it all – but knowledge is power, after all, and the pursuit of knowledge is a worthy endeavor. It’s more than fitting for a debut EP to tackle questions of identity and purpose, but ADLT VDEO take things to the next level on Chameleon, a meaningful exploration of the self bursting with warmth, color, and passion.
the air that I breathe
the wind through the trees, come and save me
I’m Real, I’m so Real…
the beat of my heart
the place where we start, tears me apart
I’m Real, I’m so Real…
Listen: Chameleon EP – ADLT VDEO
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/331801247?secret_token=s-bacYN” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”350″ iframe=”true” /]Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering ADLT VDEO’s debut EP Chameleon, independently out 10/20/2017. The Los Angeles based duo of Luke Top (Fool’s Gold) and Mindy Jones (Moby), ADLT VDEO’s introduction to the world is one filled with dynamic emotion. Rooted in reality, Chameleon finds the two seasoned artists daring to do something new and different – yet despite going out of their comfort zones, the music feels oddly settled and “right.”
It’ll all work out, it’ll be okay
No need to shout, just call my name
Wanna be your man, but I’m not sure how
Wanna take a train to your side of town
We don’t have to make sense,
we don’t have to pretend
I think I was born just to meet you
Maybe this isn’t all just a dream
I guess I didn’t think I’d love you
Nothing is ever what it seems
– “Chameleon,” ADLT VDEO
“The Chameleon EP was a fresh breath of air for us,” reflects Luke Top. “This music is different from any of our other projects, and gave us the opportunity to indulge in all sorts of creative tangents that may not have had a home otherwise. For me, it was really nice to be able to work with a singer that was so versatile and bold; it made the production and assembly of some fairly disparate musical ideas feel inevitable…”
“I think I was born just to meet you; maybe this isn’t all just a dream,” sings a heavy-hearted Mindy Jones on the band’s luscious title track. “I guess I didn’t think I’d love you; nothing is ever what it seems.” We are all chameleons; life is a chameleon; take the imagery however which way you will. What stands out most about ADLT VDEO’s music is its maturity – the grace with which the duo carry themselves is astonishing. Jones inhabits every song perfectly, sinking into the melodies to becoming one with the glowing synths, raging guitars, and pulsing percussion that sustain each track.
Never made mistakes before, Now i make em all the time
I’ll admit my timing’s poor, I know that you’re not mine
Never felt like this before, The blind lead the blind
Gotta get up off this floor, Before I lose my mind!
Don’t walk away. Don’t be afraid.
Don’t let it go. Don’t fight the flow.
– “Break,” ADLT VDEO
ADLT VDEO’s music has been described as “dark pop,” but the deeper one dives into Chameleon EP, the less the descriptor fits. More akin to acts like Tennis and Beach House than to the likes of NRVS LVRS or Rousseau, ADLT VDEO bring out the light in darker times through shining melodic glaze and instrumental beauty. Lead single and EP opener “Alive” may jilt and jostle the senses as the band begin their journey, but through their lamentations and reflections on relationships, self-indulgence, change, and more, we come to feel that things just might end up being okay – different, yes; but nonetheless okay.
Don’t say, it’s over
Just pull me closer
drink from the water where it all became
a force of nature and you new my name
Start Over – Wash it away
Start Over – Can we be the same
Leave it behind, fall back into
Maybe only then I can Start Over with you
– “Start Over,” ADLT VDEO
And just like there are at least two sides to every story, there are many ways of presenting a song. “Start Over and “Start Over Again” take the same lyric and melody composition, and provide two entirely different takes – one a tropical, upbeat pop number, the other a lush, slowed-down dance with the soul. Both have their place; both leave a mark. At first, the listener may not even realize they have heard the same lyrics twice.
Don’t let appearances fool you. ADLT VDEO’s Chameleon is lush dreamy pop you’ll want to lose yourself in time and again, an incredibly intimate and moving experience that strips us of any and all pretense, so that we are left with only our bodies and souls to bear.
Enjoy this powerful EP, exclusively on Atwood Magazine.
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:: pre-order Chameleon here ::
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photo © Alexa Nikol Curran
