Most of the noise element is provided by a dirty, relentless guitar sound that provides the main tint for the atmosphere of the song, which is thick and immersive, almost claustrophobic in places. Distortion is dosed cleverly throughout, in a way that serves the overall ambience rather than being in service of a specific sound. Mood-wise, it has something in common with the haunting atmospheres evoked by The Cure in their early work; sound-wise it is more closely related to the later waves of punk. It feels like in recent years the definition of post-punk has lost any true meaning, but if it still held one, it would probably be best applicable to music like this. The vocals in particular borrow something from New Wave, especially in their treatment of the lower register. Lovers of Joy Division might find something both familiar and intriguing in it, especially as the track crescendos into its last third, with a more infectious riff emerging and becoming the leading force that carries it to its softer, more subdued end.
It is a short track that goes directly to the point, and this is also very much in the punk spirit; at the same time, it is also an example of how short does not necessarily have to mean streamlined. It is, indeed, impressive how much TIMOTEI manages to layer in within a track that is only slightly short of three minutes of total run time. The final result feels longer, precisely because it has so many layers, and so many transitions; tempo and overall feel of the song shift three separate times, not in a jarring way, but rather as a flow that works as an expressionist portrait of the different, conflicting thoughts it is attempting to portray - the sense of being profoundly bonded emotionally to a place while at the same time feeling trapped within it.
The song bridges out into a separate track with which it forms an unbroken flow. As its title suggests, ‘22. (poem)’ is indeed more poem than song, dominated by spoken-word delivery and centring the emotionally charged, narrative aspect as the purely compositional fades into the background. This, and the balance that is created with the single proper that precedes it, is almost the perfect example of the type of experimental research TIMOTEI, as an artist, is doing. Not just a reflection of his mixed background as a creator, it actually reads like a true statement of intent: a deliberate desire to blur the lines between the different art forms and sit exactly at the point where they blend into another. It is also an excellent way to showcase his vocal capabilities; soulful and expressive, confident enough to deliberately lean into any imperfections to turn them into the cracks where the light shines through, the vocal delivery is easily one of the greatest strengths of this work overall. In ‘LOVEYOUTODEATH’ it borrows from the classics of garage rock and even goth to create a moody, intense atmosphere; this makes the flow into the spoken-word element even more striking.
As is perhaps to be expected with a track in which the vocal element is so dominant, the lyrics are also an important part of the whole. Lines like “I love you to death but I don’t wanna die here’ provide a direct, punch-to-the-gut channel of expression for the main theme of the track, which is not what you might have imagined from its title. On the contrary, this song is a striking representation of the alienation felt by someone living away from home, in a place where they might find self-realisation but where they are also often inevitably isolated. The song tapering off, before fading into its spoken-word counterpart, a recording of a Tube announcement, heightens this feeling: moody and relatable in its complexity.
It is very hard to put this track into a box, and perhaps that is the main point. Art forms should be malleable things that can be played with to express the depth of feeling, drawing outside the lines of canonical rules. ‘LOVEYOUTODEATH’ does that to great effect.
Chiara Strazzulla
Image: ‘LOVEYOUTODEATH’ Official Single Cover
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