Sydney three-piece RETIREE have bestowed a new offering, ‘Jan’, out now via Plastic World. Ensuing on from their late 2016 single ‘Continental’, ‘Jan’ hooks right into Retiree’s signature 1980’s style funky bass and complex beats, soothingly overlaid with dreamy, pensive vocals.
While the tone depicts the warm niceties of enjoying a piña colada on a tropical beach somewhere far away, the vocals and lyrics of ‘Jan’ in truth represent a story of loss. Juxtaposing the immersive, bright synth melodies and groovy percussive textures against the veiled emotive sentiment sees Retiree travel into more sonic experimentation and further explore their niche region of kind-of-but-not-totally indie-electro-pop sound.
Retiree explain: "'Jan’ is a melancholy song in disguise. I started writing it on a train from Germany to Amsterdam on my way to my uncle’s funeral. The whole song is sort of equal parts reflective, sad and celebratory"
This is conveyed through the softly spoken resonating vocals, which hold a note of sadness while hiding under the group’s spacious, swelling production and quirky melodic phrases.
The use of both live and sampled drum beats, layered with a combination of rhythmic and smooth, otherworldly synth tones ultimately cut and change the shape of the sound to deliver a multitude of expressive rifts.
‘Jan’ could well be Retiree’s most succinct creative assertion to date, graciously interleaving temperaments of melancholy with the brighter components of their 80’s vibe right through its close.
Words by FREYA DINESEN
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