We all grew up too quickly: got cool, got adult problems, got old. We forgot what it was like to be silly, how to enjoy the simple things, what really matters to us. We became cool and we became jaded. We stopped living in moments and started collecting worries: about what other people thought of us, about the clothes we wear, how we look, about jobs and money and what we were supposed to do and when.
Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of stuff out there in life that will cause you pain and heartache and is worth a worry or two when it happens but until then we need to start having more moments.
Joy is everywhere, in all things. Sometimes you just need to make yourself open to it. Take your headphones out for once and listen to the birds chirping, the old couple arguing just so they have a reason to make-up later, the girl walking along singing her favourite song and thinking nobody can hear her. Look up. See the tops of buildings. People stealing kisses in open windows, dancing behind closed curtains. Clouds morphing into shapes. At stars and satellites. Take off your socks and dip your toes in the water, in the lake, in the sea. Smell that flower. Smile back at that person. Have a conversation. Don’t scroll down your Twitter feed. Don’t refresh your emails. Actually speak to someone. Find out their story. Make them forget some of their worries. Because life is too short and too full of bullshit to not.
LA electro-pop duo MVSCLES remind me to do all of these things that I forget to do 99% of my time. Their lo-fi pop songs brim over with wide-eyed optimism. There’s a line from their single Sweet n Sour that encapsulates this ethos: “If I hadn’t met sour then I’d never know sweet.” In a single sentence, they reframe the way we should interact with the world. Yes, we all know how shit things can be but isn’t it about time we celebrated the good stuff?
It is again typical of MVSCLES that they released new single Somethin’ on Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year. It is a slice of eighties pop where melodic yearnings bob atop a gentle electro-reggae groove.
Last year, they decided to play a set in their living room because, I guess, they thought it would be fun and people like me would enjoy it. In the short performance, they play their fantastic Sweet n Sour single and debut Somethin. It is naive and DIY and delightful. At the end of the video they tell the viewer ‘WE LOVE YOU’ because it is a nice thing to do.
For more musical magic, read the live review of the brilliant Au at the Cube Bristol.
