24th February 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
A change is as good as a rest, so the saying goes. I don’t know if I’m entirely convinced, but as I seem incapable of resting – there’s always something to do, and if there’s nothing that needs doing in any given moment, there’s all the stuff I want to do but don’t have enough time for the majority of the time. The trouble is, oftentimes, when I do get a window, I find I’m unable to focus, and simply jump and jitter and remember that I need to put another load of laundry on or tidy something or other or add something to the shopping list, and before I know it, I’ve not even stopped for a second. It makes reading books and watching TV incredibly difficult. I’m by no means alone: the vast majority of people I speak to – admittedly, mostly by text as we all seem to be too busy to take time out to meet in person – all make the same complaint, that there simply isn’t enough time in the day, and when you’re stuck in a perpetual cyclone of life activity, it’s nigh on impossible to stop and to unwind. And then, of course, there’s not only physical rest, but mental rest, and it can often feel as if your brain is your enemy, or certainly not your friend.
They say of the song that it ‘reaches for a fleeting February feeling before it thaws and fades’, and the lyrics are brimming with briefly sketched but evocative visual lyrics
I open the window
Breathe in the morning air
But ideas are like sunlight
They’re everywhere
And yet, despite the theme of restlessness which runs through the song, the images themselves are soothing, as is the mellow musical accompaniment, which they describe as ‘Seven spiritual minutes of ethereal melody and synthesised drone for deep and peaceful nothingness.’ It’s certainly quite a change from their trademark fizzy punky poppy tunes or the guitar-orientated lo-fi post punk stylings, with the final three minutes simply being a long, slow-turning drone solo, which is calming indeed.
AA
Aural Aggravation 