THE KILLING TAPES
Falling Down (Yellow)
Linköping, Sweden
THE KILLING TAPES consisting of Marcus Crede and Peter Svensson released their second album on 20th December 2022. Consisting of six songs, the ‘Falling Down (Yellow) EP has a whole world of highly reflective observations within its lyrics. From the external world to the internal, these are songs that one must find themselves fully attending to, so, stop what you are doing, relax and be mindful of what this duo have to say – it’s worth it I promise.
Opening with ‘Credibility’ is exactly what has been done here. Showing their knack for synth pop rock and leaning towards the electronic, synth slap bass and hauntingly reverbed indie rock vocals speak a message of cyclical thought, from metaphorical wings to thoughts that anchor themselves to the ground. One common theme within this piece is the belief that if you are going to soar, sometimes you need to accept when somebody else is keeping you down.
‘Dada’ contains a self reflective message, the lyrics address the theme of when everything is done and dusted and there’s nothing to hold on to whilst asking the question - how can I be like you? To give love. The song appears to be a dedication to ones father.
‘Delirium’ comes in to lift this project to new heights – this is a production that takes deeper dive into pop rock. Even more melodic high notes and, more existential reasoning. This song makes reference to God and to pulling yourself out of the darkest corners of the mind. Definitely my favourite song on this project for all of those reasons.
‘Tears’ is a progressive piece that last over five minutes. Elements of experimental electronic industrial sounds make their way into the deeper layers of the piece allowing for the vocals to stand out. Riding on a bed of elongated bass synths and reverbed drumming, this song won my heart instantly. Harmonies were nice to hear! Adding another dimension. The lyrics – highly relatable – “I guess I am one one of a kind I will run I will hide” – Maybe THE KILLING TAPES underestimated their connectedness to others here but this is definitely something that many resonate with. It’s good to hear these emotions expressed through song.
The project concludes in two parts – ‘Unrest (Intro) allows listeners to escape into a futuristic and industrial soundscape before the main body of content comes into play. ‘Unrest’ claims that “There’s so many ways to be mistaken” and this is absolutely true. Talks of being put to the test and a delve into a darker production leaves listeners hungry for more.