Whether you know it or not, you've read many pieces on this blog about the music of Aki McCullough. The "obvious" ones are A Constant Knowledge of Death and Dreamwell but Victory Over the Sun, Vivid Illusion and a few more groups can be added to the list of musical projects she has contributed to, whether as a producer, vocalist, or guitar player. Now, under her very own solo project, ameokama, she is releasing a new single and announcing an album of the same name, "i will be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening". As par the course for Aki, the music is excellent and the aesthetic sense that surrounds it is just as good. This time, the heretofore shoegaze-focused sound of ameokama is injected with a dose of aggression, turning it into a forceful and moving thrust in the direction of blackgaze. Tune on down below to hear the maneuver in full!
Crazy good stuff. The first part of this track, which takes up its first quarter, contains the dreamy timbres that have accompanied Aki's sound all the way back to the first Vivid Illusion albums. Here though, that dreamy vibe is "elongated", stretched to the verge of ambience and landing firmly in the drawn out, undulating soundscapes of shoegaze. And then, close to the middle of the track, the tension created by this silky, rippling sound explodes with Aki's powerful harsh vocals and the flowering of the guitars into full, post metal, cavernous sound. The resulting sound, especially enhanced by the ethereal backing vocals, is all the more moving for its contrast with the beginning of the track, an excruciating catharsis for its delicacy.
The track also makes great use of two guest spots, Sylvia Haynes on upright bass, and Avery Sylvaine (Mud Whale, Oak & Ivy) on drums. Both of these instruments and their performers work incredibly well with the overall sound of the track, giving it an extra dimension of doom and post metal depth. It turns the composition into something hard to ignore, whether by lending it a pronounced bottom end on the part of the bass or a punchy insistence for the drums.
The music video follows suit, building on these thematic ideas with excellent colors and compositions. As usual for Aki, the whole package works together to vividly (get it) get across her artistic intent and create an effective piece of art. I'm sure the album, of the same name and with the release date of the 7th of February, 2025, will be the same and I can't wait to dive deeper into it.
Follow the project's Bandcamp here when pre-orders and the single itself drop tomorrow, November 15th.