The 4th song off of LA-based producer Will "Baths" Wiesenfeld's 5th studio album, Pop Music / False B-Sides II.
It's a difficult song to put words to. Baths sings off-tempo for most of the song, a beat behind where you'd expect him to be. But his cadence is conversational, almost talking to himself, and combined with the quiet, light imagery in the lyrics, it becomes a sort of mantra. It starts as heavily as the backing beat does
"Abyss slips on like a night gown / Wear it around, stay in the house"
But just as quickly as he
laments, he
lifts himself up:
"But all that's a bit out of body / I still feel the sun when it's foggy"
and raises his pitch up for the final stanza, his voice still quiet but still feeling as if he is screaming to the sky with all his heart and soul, just as powerful as any power rock/metal vocalist or Dragonforce song:
"Defiant, but tired, I'll come to town / I have to learn to live with myself / If I so desire, I will come around / I will come to town"
The title itself combined with the lyrics refers to the term
agoraphobia, the fear of open or crowded spaces, or leaving your home. It's a
powerful combination, one that dips into the depths of
fear and
sadness, but rising to a warm, sweet and quiet,
melancholy-tinged feeling that uplifts in an unseen manner. Such is the genius of Will Wiesenfeld, able to masterfully delve into
the whole of human emotion and surface with
pure, distilled, whole emotion. And all under 3 minutes, no less! I have fallen deeply in love with the
simplicity that Wiesenfeld composes with, and the
complexity with which he performs. There is
a deep serenity to this song (and others on the album) that would be hard to match elsewhere.