Any music worth its salt will reflect the times it’s made in. It’ll absorb the atmosphere of everything around it, hold up a mirror to what’s happening in the lives of the people who made it and also the wider world outside. That’s exactly what Alibi, the third full-length from New York’s Imaginary People (due out September 12th), does. It is, as frontman Dylan Von Wagner, explains, a response to the cultural civil war that he sees unfolding all across the USA.
“I just think we’re in an ultimate fight right now,” explains the singer. “Our culture is just falling apart and the ins and outs of our cultural differences are splitting – it feels like what one person says is right and what the other person says is wrong and that’s it. The whole time we were doing the record, it just felt like normalcy was falling apart. The things you’d think would normally be right and wrong-the normal yeses and nos–aren’t happening anymore, and that was very disturbing to me.”
That cultural dystopia bristles through Alibi’s 11 songs. Recorded by Phil Weinrobe (Nick Murphy, Pussy Riot, Stolen Jars) at Rivington 66 in the band’s home of New York City, as well as upstate at Spillway Sound in the Catskills, and mixed by Eli Crews at Figure 8 in Brooklyn, this is an album that shimmers with a twisted beauty, which feeds off all of that disturbing stuff and turns it into something both harrowing and beautiful.
As such, the band – completed by Mark Roth (guitar), Justin Repasky (keys), Kolby Wade (drums), Bryan Percivall (bass/synth), and with additional synth work by Grant Zubritsky – have not just perfectly captured the times in which this record was written, but have managed to turn the nightmare of the modern world into something truly exquisite, pitting emotional vulnerability against an almost resigned stoicism.
While there are glimpses of light throughout the darkness that permeates every aspect of Alibi – one that captures the nature of what humanity has become – and while its songs do reflect the harsh, bleak reality of being alive – and of the coldness and meanness of the big city, especially when the world feels like it’s collapsing – it also manages to exist on its own, and on its own terms.
Welcome, then, to the world of Alibi. It’s a cold, dark, lonely place, but so is the world. Stick around long enough, however, and the light might just start to shine through.
Today, Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the standout track “David’s Eyes,” a bouncy number that balances indie synth rock cool with an almost dubby beat. Reminiscent of acts like Interpol, Future Islands, and The Smiths, the song flows along with dreamy vocals and airy guitar that seems to float over and chime in with little bursts. There is a brightness and sort of mystery to the song that works well with its slightly danceable beat that lingers with you long after listening. Ultimately, this is the kind of tune that would have turned heads during the golden indie rock blogger era of the early aughts.
On the song, the band’s Dylan Von Wagner says:
“One night, I was sitting in Central Park on a bench and felt something behind me. I turned and saw eyes and not much else. I was asked my name, and he returned promptly.. David, and then he was gone….hopefully it was a ghost…cause it sure wasn’t human.”
LISTEN:
