“Return to Love” (LP) by We are Vibrational Beings

There are many sounds, textures and tones that await all who are bold enough to indulge in the new album Return to Love from the experimental project We Are Vibrational Beings this season, but while the eccentric design of the music this thirteen-song tracklist contains makes for an unquestionably involved listening experience not for the faint of heart (nor the limited in imagination), its genuinely melodic faceting and relentlessly accessible construction makes it a tough collection of songs to put down once you’ve picked it up.

Acoustic harmonies haunt us in “Song for the Morning” where synthetic clouds and spoken word passages engage us in “Wake Up Call” before ushering forth the first piece of the Return to Love puzzle in “Your Little Piece of the Sky.” “Greater Than the Fear” washes away the tension of the precluding eleven songs with a piano-born melodicism that is as psychedelic in stylization as any of the grooves in “You’ll Always Know,” “Seeing the World Without Filters” or “Everybody’s Waiting” are. 2020 has been all about big hybrids from the American underground, but in the case of this exquisite offering from We Are Vibrational Beings, audiences can rest assured they aren’t supporting just another trend baby in a sea of recycled rhythm and rhyme.

In “Footsteps in the Attic of My Mind,” the title track and “Somebody’s Something,” I found that minor details within the big picture of the composition(s) were as prominent in the master mix as any of the focal points (vocals, guitar) were, which hasn’t been a common feature among the indie output I’ve reviewed in the last three months. Subtle elements that other artists would just as soon overlook – like the textural expressiveness of a bassline, or even the relationship between a vocal track and the pulsating percussion supporting it in the background – are given VIP treatment here, and when taking into account the meticulous structuring of the material in Return to Love, the emotional value in everything from “You’ll Always Know” to “I Was Waking Up” feels equally potent and tangible to the audience. This record is absolutely progressive enough to be labeled a concept album, but instead of being weighed down by a lot of additional bombast, as would typically be the case in a release as ambitious as this one is, sufficiency reigns with startling supremacy from start to finish.

JIOSAAVN: https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/return-to-love/Xu1bqRbfCkc_

I was only just recently introduced to We Are Vibrational Beings, but I am very intrigued by what I’ve heard in their first record. Return to Love is an LP that was crafted specifically for rockers who love both psychedelia and diverse compositional skillsets in liberal doses within the same tracklist, and though it’s a little grittier in tone than what this groups’ major label rivals might be cutting in the studio this year, it’s undeniably one of the most honestly melodic records I’ve listened to in a while.

We Are Vibrational Beings are definitely a band to keep your eye on, and judging from the reception this rookie effort is getting, I won’t be the only one following their progress in the years to come.

Michael Rand