It’s hard to get hooked to a song that you know you’re hearing for the first time but somehow feel like it’s already been played to death. But just like academic plagiarism is just taking without tact, stale music can come from taking the wrong parts of something that’s already been done. In each case, success comes from knowing how much to take and how much to make up on your own.
Again and again, Cathedrals show that they understand this. Carefully borrowing from R&B, pop, and dreamy space-out synth, the group creates something warm and fresh by sharpening the sound and overlaying their tracks with throbbing rhythms. I don’t know if it makes sense to call the vocals “convincing,” but they are. They’re believable, and sympathizable, and they are the key ingredient in making Cathedrals a consistent, head-nodding experience.
The first 1:20 of “Want My Love” is exactly this. The rest of the track is respectable, but it’s this first third that has the ability to wrap itself around you. Get some headphones and dim the lights. Believe me, it’s really for the best.
Cathedrals has been on our radar for some time now as one by one their tracks drop like fresh-baked bread crumbs. Now I’m just waiting for the bread.