Recommended Tracks: “Another Year” “”Reassurance”
Artists You May Like: Bon Iver, Tom Odell, Adrianne Lenker
Inspired by the landscapes of his home country of Iceland, indie-folk’s
Axel Flóvent has released his sixth EP,
Fleeing the Shore. A more bare and acoustic record than previous entries,
Fleeing the Shore sees the singer-songwriter explore themes of isolation, change and returning to your past across 6 tracks. While atmosphere plays a huge part in the EP’s quiet reckoning, it’s Flóvent’s songwriting that spotlights the singer’s artistry.
“Another Year” starts us off with a live band and a slightly country tone as Flóvent reveals that “I’ve never been so alone.” A piano anchors the rest of the instruments as they work off the keys to fill up the arrangement. Doubled guitars and a plucked banjo give it some lightness, much needed against the tom-heavy drum pattern. The inherent heaviness that comes from the toms complements the lyrics’ sombreness with lines such as “another year in the same old body.” This pre-chorus emphasises Flóvent’s desire for change while still understanding that he is asking for something too large. The singer-songwriter’s self-isolation is also established in the second verse with “I know I try too hard to make you see the things I see.”
After establishing this sound, Flóvent starts to strip away at the instrumentation with the following title track’s soft change of pace.
“Fleeing The Shore” is chosen as the title track for a clear reason: the changing instrumentation and lyrics reflect most of the EP’s themes and motifs. A strong string melody and sharp guitar take centre stage during the first verse, with some light keys acting as a countermelody to the strings. Flóvent asks listeners if they share his thoughts on regret and overestimating one’s strength with questions such as, “do you ever reach for something you can’t see?” and “do you still blame yourself for trying?”
While the weight of the song comes from the strings, a contrast can be found in the vocals, which Flóvent delivers drily. These doubled vocals also have some distance from both each other and the listener, giving “Fleeing The Shore” an airiness similar to early Bon Iver. A drum kit that begins in the second verse sticks strictly to the lighter cymbals, hi-hat and snare to ensure that the lower strings and overall atmosphere remain the focus of the song.
“Nowhere” starts much slower than the rest of the EP with the guitar rhythm also played much lighter. The hollowness of the strings is at its clearest, and the deliberate space put in front of them adds to the overall feeling of isolation. This idea of isolation within the production is also highlighted in the song’s backing vocals, which act more as an echo of Flóvent’s main vocal than a choir. The lyrics heighten this theme even more as the songwriter finds himself lost in the world. Flóvent’s longing to be around others is clear, but the line “I burned all the bridges I made along the way” shows how his solitude is self-inflicted. The song’s lyrics are filled with talk of travel and movement, yet it’s clear how lost Flóvent truly is in the chorus’s “I don’t know where I should go.”
The theme of change is at its obvious in “Over One Night” with the chorus’s “I just wanna change over one night.” The electric guitar and drum kit make their return, with the reverb over the lead guitar giving the song its dreamlike sound. Strings and piano also return in “Over One Night,” but there is still bareness and space in the song. The discussion of sleep and dreams in the chorus is clear. In the first verse, Flóvent explains his lack of motivation in waking up and not wanting to change his “resting routine.” We then see how this self-loathing continues throughout the day with “I’m out of my bed but I stare at my floor.” “Over One Night” is easily the most distraught and melancholic song on Fleeing The Shore.
In “Reassurance,” we see the long-awaited return of the banjo, with the plucking giving a nice change of texture to the EP. Nature plays a large part in this song in both sound and lyrics. In the intro and second verse, we hear the sound of rain pattering in the background. The first line, “why do the leaves change the way I feel?” highlights both the concept of change and its connection to nature.
In an EP filled with lines about solitude, “Reassurance” highlights how even without people around us, we still crave connection. For Flóvent, this connection is found in nature as he personifies the landscapes around him, wondering if the leaves are “laughing at me” and noting how the river “flows from my troubles.” Another noticeable change is the lead vocal, which sits much closer in the mix. Overall, there is a much rougher texture to “Reassurance” than the rest of Fleeing The Shore.
Flóvent finishes the project with the overly somber “In The Grass.” A heavy piano, which has been lightly sprinkled across the record so far, finally sits front and center with heavy reverb, bringing back Fleeing the Shore‘s smoother texture. This lingering reverb, along with the decayed sliding guitar, is one last emphasis of the overall tonality of the EP, highlighting a large but empty space. Motifs of nature continue with the chorus’s “let me into your glasshouse,” explaining Flóvent’s desire to live in a home that is too mythical to ever exist. In an EP all about isolation, Flóvent finishes with an anchor: “if all you need is something to hold onto.”
Axel Flóvent’s Fleeing the Shore shows how isolation from others can create some much-needed introspection, but should never last too long. In each song, he balances quiet realisations with disheartening fears for the future against the sounds of hallowed yet tranquil instrumentation, highlighting Axel Flóvent’s talent for emotional clarity within both his music and lyricism.
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