BARLOW - FOUR CASTLES

Low Bra
by Righ Ex

Ryan: Barlow is a trio from Erie, in Philly. Not 'Philly' as in my country, the Philippines, but Philadelphia in the USA. I learned about the band as I listened to Scat's "Even Atom". What nosey ears I have... But here's a band that's fronted by Ethan Oliva. Their name "Barlow", according to Ethan, was apparently the brand name of his grandfather's knife. Not that I mean to pry so much, assuming that somehow they're related to the famous indie band Sebadoh, which is fronted by no other than Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr!

Their sound is astounding. It's like you were brought to some familiar planet. I guess it is, by default lo-fi. Its charm resonates and reverberates like TV personalities and ridiculous spin-out thoughts and cartoonographic jumping positive channels. "In The Air", "Castles" and their most recommended, "Cindy". It's like a 2010s band that's from late 80s. early 90s . Reminds me of old TVs, cassette tapes and boomboxes, Friday the 13th, Goonies, VHS and Beta tapes, video arcades, pinball machines, bubblegum, super trump cards, tree houses, Rambo, ewoks, retros, and board games. Most promising, this band should breakout to the mainstream, or not.

Jake: This EP is lo-fi from the get-go; captivating and fuzzworthy (I guess it's a take off of 'buzzworthy'--which is yet another made up word--but girl, you know it's true!). As one of the few current cassette releases I've heard (not to mention my introduction to the band), Barlow's genre hybrid is well suited for such a format. Kind of an indie/grunge-gaze sound. From the first few chords of "Missionary", I immediately felt a 90s indie rock vibe from how melodic it was. Just my favorite type of sound that embraces my pleasure senses, much like ice cream. Upon hearing the following track, "Pink Room", it reminded me of the Swedish indie band Suredo, with its fast tempo and sonic atmosphere (pun intended). I actually appreciate how the band integrates some mellow interludes to allow for variety.

Interestingly, I imagined their song "Visor" as an opening to an alternative-themed TV show, similar to Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete and Pete, with "Castles" as the possible closer, and the penultimate and final tracks acting as sort of recurring songs, setting the tone for specific moments, much like Polaris with their music. That idea really made me nostalgic for the carefree days of being young and smart (academically, but not yet emotionally). Man, how I miss going through school just wanting to be home and playing video games, before all this accumulated "stressure" of having girls on a pedestal and all these regrets! 

One thing's for certain, however; I do not regret listening to Four Castles by Barlow! In fact, it did its job in having an impact on me from the very first listen. Barlow, if you read this post, just feel assured of the guarantee that I'll definitely check out more of your stuff. Consider me a fan as well!!

> Why the regret Jake?  It's just something to file under easy listening. RIGH EX