Alpaca-in-Chief’s “M Building” is an awe-inspiring world that feels close to home and, at the same time, panoramic. The song opens with dreamy synth layers that glitter like the city, barely visible as it rains, a flash of brilliance that instantly engulfs you in introspection.
It’s clear that it’s not just another electronic song, it’s a sensation, a perspective, a silent urge to become engrossed in it. What distinguishes “M Building” is the critical equilibrium between the thrilling and the human of it all. The synth textures repeat and metamorphose with thrilling consistency, keeping your pulse in step, while Alpaca-in-Chief’s voice is unprocessed, tranquil, and wholly lifelike. There’s a subdued self-assurance in that voice, a continual changeover of emotion and sanity that stabilizes the storm of sound all around. Every utterance feels cogent and deliberate, as if it were straight from the singer’s mouth into their ear, entwining the piece with a score tingling fuzz that remains hours after it’s done. The full length of the piece becomes increasingly apparent as the song progresses. “M Building” eventually appears to extend, implying a deep emotional structure extended solely through scant tone. This song could offer the music to the midnight pocket of cobblestone, or it could be the score to a middle-of-the-night, extended period of self-discovery.
With “M Building,” Alpaca-in-Chief solidifies a brilliant and ever-spectacular career, one that survives and thrives on the minimal gulf, neat but lifelike, up-close but outspread, thrilling and relaxing. Its tunes are not heard but appreciated, each creating its personal modest monument in the audience’s thoughts.