Last year was a beautiful, terrible mess… so… Boston based composer Calo decided to make an EP about it with that very name! ‘Last year was a beautiful, terrible mess’ is a six track project that sees Calo put all his musical skills on the table in order to sum up what a crazy year 2020 was for him… and everyone else.
A producer, saxophonist and composer, it’s hard to put Calo’s music into a box. He’s 100% an out of the box artist. And that’s what’s so great about this EP. The free nature of Calo’s approach to making music allows him to capture the vast range of emotions needed to appropriately paint a sonic picture of 2020.
A lot of the EP’s run time is instrumental only, with some incredibly intoxicating vocal’s sprinkled in that really grab your attention. “so many lifetimes” ft. Anjali Rose is one of our favourite tracks from the project that does exactly that. It grabs your attention and gives you this inescapable feeling of unease. Calo’s unglued style on this track mixes so many contrasting emotions that you can’t help but feeling some sort of dread listening too it. But at the same time you can’t turn it off. It’s a very weird experience but one that we’re certain you’ll not often feel when listening to modern music.
The following track on the album, “house party”, is another highlight and a welcome relief from the grasps of “so many lifetimes”. JoiBeatz jumps on this one to provide some old school hip-hop vibes with straight fun bars.
The whole EP, from start to finish, is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. From euphoria to dread. Calo has managed to capture the essence of 2020 in this super impressive project. It’s out of the box, unhinged and awesome.
RIDE MUSIC 