There's that special kind of alchemy when music not just sounds like a story but feels like one. On "Thundering," Henry Blaeser elevates his storytelling above that of a mere musician, but a tale weaver on some border of dream and disillusion. The spearhead single from his debut release, "Whale," is the moment when Blaeser sets out his stall as a fearless, art-pop auteur in full widescreen color.
"Thundering" unfolds like a diary entry composed from the rim of an island we've conjured, plaintive, sardonic, quietly epic. It always entails a single figure stranded on the shore, gazing after others who are heading seaward, unable to accompany them. It's a character study as much as it is a confession, full of judgment, envy, and self-awareness. And it's all iced in Blaeser's inimitable blend of alternative pop and doleful Ledouxian theater. There's a tension here between intimacy and spectacle, between melody and chaos. The song throbs with theatricality but never quite spills over into melodrama. Blaeser treads that line with the confidence of a veteran dramatist, allowing synths to simmer and vocals to stretch across emotional terrain without ever seeming to lose control. Fans of Moses Sumney and genre-agnostic art-pop will feel right at home, and for good reason, the striking visual world of "Thundering" was created in collaboration with Sumney's longtime collaborator, Josh Finck.
What makes "Thundering" so irresistible isn't just its style, it's the sly humor beneath the gloom. Blaeser doesn't wallow. Instead, he dissects. Speaking with a voice that can both sneer and swoon in the same breath, he questions the isolation he clings to, even as he idealizes it. This is self-knowing melodrama, music looking at itself in the mirror of its contradictions. Henry Blaeser draws from all corners of influence, including contentious indie bands, thoughtful fiction, and UK dance textures, all of which subtly slosh beneath the surface. It's this mixed heritage that makes "Thundering" feel both familiar and alien. You feel the ghosts of other genres and different moods, but Blaeser gives them new names and new shadows.
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