Aug 27 : "Big Apple, 3am" - Special World (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written and Recently Relased (May 1)

Philly Music!

A WIDER FOUNDATION

Big changes in Special World's world. I went to see Special World at Cambridge Hall on Friday night. Big changes since I saw them last back in 2023. I'm saying I'm seeing "a wider foundation", and this I mean on a few different levels.

There are changes in the band's sound. When I saw the band back in 2023, I felt the music was loose and freewheeling, maybe some improvisaation, but at the time the band had only a couple tracks up on line and I admit I had a limited frame of reference. At Friday's show, in contrast, the music was tight, very tight. I also felt the music followed the composition of their songs closely to what we hear on line. It provided a basis or ground level which I couldn't really identify in the first show. In terms of performance, there was a hugely expanded set of keys Friday night.

There was also a stronger tonal foundation. At Cambridge Hall there was pounding bass and drums, which just weren't there at the previous show. I don't know how much this was a function of new composition, mixing, or just a difference in the equipment, or maybe all three.

There was also a wider foundation from the visual standpoint. At the 2023 show, Lot 49 Books had very generously stepped in to host the show when sudden rain predictions cancelled the outdoor show at another location, so the "stage" setting was a little constricted compared to the wide stage at Cambridge Hall. And, yes, their new keys and other equipment helped fill up the stage nicely. A broad and solid appearance.

And lastly I feel that, in looking at the new track, there is a wider foundation in terms of lyrics or content. When listening to some of the band's earlier work, I sometimes felt like I was eavesdropping on a relationship whose attributes I knew little about. In the new song "Big Apple, 3am", we're jolted out of the ethereal and made to focus more seriously on life, both outside and inside our selves. The band forwards the concept that complacency = complicity, and that, in looking for "malevolence", the answer might not be just with the actions of others, but, taking the first look, with our own failure to act.

Here is the new piece that's just been posted, "Big Apple, 3am" :::

Special World has another show coming up soon, on Friday, October 17th, at Johnny Brenda's. You can also keep an eye on what they're doing in the meantime, on Special World on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE), and on Special World on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic is from artist's Facebook page).