Artwork by Lela Smith, courtesy of The Static Dive.
We know, we’re doing it again. Another single… You might just start seeing more of them from us. When we heard HAIKU LOGIC, it was too good not to share.
IS THE STATIC DIVE A REGULAR ON OUR PLAYLISTS?
Nope. Haiku Logic has been our introduction. It has since been added to our new artists you need to hear playlist.
There is something that feels so summery, so warm about the guitar. Perhaps the gentle strum intro, followed by the lo-fi beat that rolls along in the back. The drums feel almost lazy, but it’s closer to watching a live band play on a warm deck than to someone who can’t be bothered.
A particularly joyful, to our ear, sound is that the vocals sound like they are pulled from a voicemail. They sit back a little from it all.
I shoot my arrow
at the open sky, I can’t
miss, so I don’t mind
Paddle my boat in
the summer sun, wasting hours
till the day is done
“Haiku Logic”
by Bob Smith
After about 2 minutes, it starts to feel closer to blues than lo-fi, but the bongos (we think, though it could be cajons) make us wish for the beach.
Combined with the bass run at about 3.30, and the guitar lifting out of the track a little more, we’re given a riff that feels organic. Almost like when the last 30 seconds were recorded, the note sheet was thrown out, and the need to play took over.
As much as we liked Haiku Logic, one song does not a full catalog make. Off to Spotify we go. NO KING IN NO CASTLE is the type of song that shows the character of an artist. It’s jazzy-blues, it’s horns and shakers, it’s groovy, while all the while delivering a supportive message for No Kings protesters. It is anti-establishment with enough beat to make you shake your shoulders. And we all know how powerful music can be.
Those two tracks aside, we head back in time to Blue Light After Party.
Lounge, jazz, latin-pop, the sun is setting, the air is warm - and you just know those gentle riffs are going to travel. It’s easy, it’s very relaxing, and it was a great place to see just how skilled this multi-instrumentalist is.
We rolled back further and had the pleasure of listening to GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, and were met with the most enjoyable cadence since Lou Reed’s WALK ON THE WILD SIDE.
We’re waiting for the album, SAMSARA BLUES, set for release this summer.
It is always refreshing to see new takes and compositions on styles we feel like we are familiar with. What comes across so keenly in Haiku Logic, and the rest of his work, is overwhelming warmth and positivity. And skill by the bucket load.
4/5
source: Spotify