Maneloren : Spiralling
Maneloren
Spiralling
A one-man project by guitarist Norman Lee, Maneloren’s third single Spiralling embarks on an indie rock path adjacent to Singaporean contemporaries Bakers In Space, with its Foals-influenced brand of lush synth-driven indie rock bringing about a good handful of solid ideas, especially on its explosive bridge sections. At times, the track’s production finds a sweet spot that emphasises its driving fuzzy grooves and delay-laden psychedelic guitar work, allowing Spiralling to truly soar at moments. There’s a keen attention to detail, be it on the subtle harmonies, textured synths, or rousing backing vocals embellishing it – small things that do help to raise Spiralling’s enjoyability. But although an impressive feat of DIY indie rock songwriting and production, Maneloren’s first single unfortunately squanders its potential with its lacklustre vocal performance.
On their own, Spiralling’s lyrics are passable at best, painting vague strokes of human crisis and the state of the world. But paired with Lee’s awkward delivery (“We wake up to the mediiia”) the sum is cringe-inducing – with his falsetto rendering the performance unfortunately stilted. The combination potentially could have worked if sung with more conviction or perhaps layered with some vocal modulation, but unfortunately, the song seems without edge as a whole. Despite Spiralling’s commendable psychedelic aesthetic, at no point does it feel as compelling or captivating as its sonic stylings make it out to be. What it has in steady technical understanding and application of Lee’s influences, it lacks in overall intent. There’s a whole lot to like about this song – but it’s a shame there’s a whole lot that doesn’t quite hit the mark too.
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