“Your voice it keeps me safe. I think I’ll try to stay.”
Three years since their debut album, Singaporean shoegaze outfit motifs return with their new EP, If This House Was Bigger. Recorded at Sundlaugin Studio in Iceland, home to legendary post-rock band Sigur Rós and host to many other notable artists such as Alcest and Björk, the record captures the frigidly inspiring atmospheres of the island while delivering a message close to home.
There’s a certain melancholy that haunts this life; the in-between moments that inexplicably carry a tinge of sadness as the passage of time moves. motifs capture this complex emotion with precision on If This House Was Bigger.
Birthed from a moment of sonder, “Aug 16“ tells a story of the ordinary person you may walk by without passing a glance. Sonically, the track is partially a return to familiar ground, carrying the comforting shoegaze textures that have become the band’s signature sound. Yet, with a hazy, heavy ambience, the track drives the themes of introspection to a new level as the expansive soundscapes fill your ears. This sets the stage for the rest of the EP’s sound, introducing a weathered, yet stronger version of motifs.
“Heavy Is The Air” begins on ethereal vocal-effect synths, with frontwoman and guitarist Elspeth Ong gently ushering in the track. The guitars join in gradually, courtesy of Ong, guitarist JJ Tan, and keyboardist-guitarist Badrul Amin. The pedal-driven textures meticulously stain the canvas, building in intensity at a steady pace. Bassist Paul Yuen adds his influence with subtlety, driving the track forward as the track reaches its crescendo. Exploding into a wall of sound, the blistering ambience is an embrace of sentimentality, with the repeating lyrical themes reflecting on life gone by, perhaps with the ones who mean the most. The track is undoubtedly exciting for motifs, as it ushers in a bolder, heavier post-rock sound that they execute with impressive effectiveness.
All this sets the stage for “Maybe In Another Dream”, which launches you back into the snowy expanse following an acoustic guitar intro. The tremolo ambience that accompanies the track’s main riffs creates an otherworldly atmosphere. Drummer Jolin Chiam matches the intensity with skill, pulling back where needed and driving the track forward with purposeful momentum. Where the track pulls back on its verses, the details are far from lost as the guitar work takes a gentler approach, with clean tone leads filling the space around Ong’s vocals. The track’s main ”hook” is the wall of sound sections that the track repeatedly dives back into. Hitting with a hypnotic chaos reminiscent of Holy Fawn’s style, these sections captivate and encapsulate the wistfulness of the track’s lyrics. There’s a certain, intentional vagueness to the lyrics, reflecting upon the frailty of life and the yearning for connection with just enough space for anyone listening to make it their own.
Where “Maybe In Another Dream” feels like a cinematic closer, final track “Later On” serves as an epilogue of sorts, taking on a lofi-influenced dreampop sound. Described by the band as a sister track to “Aug 16”, the track gives an upbeat twist to the EP as it concludes the EP’s story. The track sees motifs experiment with pop influences while still maintaining their signature atmospheres.
The time spent in Iceland was, without a doubt, instrumental for the creation of If This House Was Bigger. There’s a certain rawness to its creativity, characterising it as a true collective effort. The change in environment and the uninterrupted time to write as a band created the perfect storm that resulted in this EP. There’s also a clear maturation in motifs’ sound as they lose themselves in heavier, more expansive soundscapes and capturing the feelings of melancholic longing that the band endeavours to represent. motifs display yet again their promise and potential, and I have no doubt that they will continue to rise to new peaks with their next body of work.
8.5/10
If This House Was Bigger releases on the 10th of October via KittyWu Records. You can pre-order it here for the US, here for Japan, and here for EU/UK. Digital purchases are available here.