by dj saratonin
Marked by his synth beats and famous guitar playing, Homeshake is THE chill-lofi beats artist your indie friends are really into. Homeshake, aka Peter Sagar, is who I consider to be one of the catalyst’s for the lofi-indie genre. Homeshake has come out with various albums and personal projects throughout the past few years, and his latest project Helium, is one that definitely marks a new era within his music making. His earliest projects The Homeshake Tape and In The Shower although constituted mainly by guitar and other instruments, seems to be the beginning of Homeshake finding his sound towards synth music. This journey continued through his releases of Midnight Snack and Fresh Air, and their mixtures of synth sounds with instrumentals is what really seemed to define Homeshake as an artist, thus making him one of my favorite artists in this era of music.
Helium, his newest project released on February 15th was something that I could hardly wait for. He was slowly releasing singles since the beginning of November, which while it got me really excited, it also made me crave listening to the whole album even more. Homeshake has always been this artist that I believe has held exceptional skill in keeping his album’s consistent both in sound and in theme. While all his albums connect somewhat, Helium gives us a closer look into the mind of Homeshake. Both Midnight Snack and Fresh Air show us Homeshake’s struggle with his relationships and communication, while Helium offers us his fantasies and thoughts of life outside of those situations. While transitioning through dreamy synthesizers and R&B-like beats, Homeshake shares with us his desire to achieve more greatly in life, as well as his desire to stay secure in his current life situations.
However Homeshake may be feeling, he never fails to make his music personable. Through his tracks Another Thing and Like Mariah, he speaks to his empty fantasies. As well as his confusion in what direction to take when things don’t feel right, in Just Like My. Homeshake also brings in his new experience of feeling grounded in his current reality in songs like Nothing Could Be Better and Other Than gives us the glimmer of hope that our outcomes can turn out differently than what we expected. Another key aspect that stands out of this album, is Homeshake’s apparent new found interest in creating instrumental tracks. The songs Heartburn, Salu Says Hi, and Couch Cushion are pleasantly constructed instrumental tracks that allow the album to flow with more feeling and interconnectedness. The album in its entirety is very well constructed with its affective mood switches, and Homeshake’s touch of introspective lyrical and instrumental moments. Overall, Helium was an album that did not disappoint. Although some part of me misses Homeshake’s original sound rooted in indie-rock, I’m glad to see that his growth continues to create idiosyncratic music that you’ll enjoy listening to in solitude.