Another Green World: Vision Quest EP
Another Green World: Vision Quest EP– After taking a brief hiatus(4 months), Alec West aka Another Green World is back with his newest EP entitled Vision Quest. You may be saying to yourself,”Well, that was fast. It’s probably not that good.” That may be true for your everyday, run-of-the-mill electro artist, but then again, West is no ordinary artist.
His debut, In Dreams, is still one of our highest rated albums of this year and a serious contender for the top spot, so it’s no surprise this was eagerly anticipated once it was announced. In Dreams‘ ethereal beauty and mid-to-lo-fi synths propelled its way into our hearts from the moment it began to its breathtaking finish. West’s heavily reverbed, whispered vocals added an air of mystery and beauty that pushed it over the top in just about every respect. With the bar set so high, what would he follow with just a short time later?
Vision Quest begins with ‘Mosaic’: A collection of beautifully swirling synths, mid-fi beats and West’s whispered vocals. It sets a tone that easily reverberates throughout the record with its cheery synths and dark vocals… Incidentally, anytime you can combine hard and soft as successfully as this, it’s always welcomed. It then fades into the very upbeat and catchy ‘Memories On VHS’ which is usually the song I unknowingly take away from this record, singing to myself. After hearing it, you’ll see why. The title track, ‘Vision Quest’, comes next and really showcases West’s talent for multi-layered instrumentals. It’s a perfect example of how he can blend simplicity and complexity to achieve beauty.
‘Excitement’ follows with an upbeat tale of love that matches the tone of the song almost too perfectly. It’s almost as if without hearing the lyrics or knowing what they’re about, you’d think to yourself,”Hey, an upbeat love song.” Indeed. This is then followed by ‘Life Moves Pretty Fast’: Another upbeat track that instead combines sadness and darkness in its lyrics over its catchy facade… much like The Smiths were wont to do on occasion. The EP finally closes with the upbeat and catchy ‘So Long’. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I liked this song quite a bit. It’s the perfect track to throw in the middle of a slower record. However, this really wasn’t a slower record. It began dramatically, flowed that way through the middle, took us on an emotional ride near the end and closed with… an upbeat song? I don’t know… I think if it ended with a slower or somewhat dramatic track like it did at its beginning, it would have been perfect. Then again, maybe that’s what makes him the artist and makes me the critic: Willingness to do the unexpected.
In many ways, this is an EP of great combinations: Hard and soft, simplicity and complexity… the unexpected. With everything that Another Green World does, it’s difficult not to love him more and more. This only makes the payoff of an album that much more anticipated and ultimately, that much sweeter…9.2/10