Music Review // Erich Mrak "Navigate"

https://soundcloud.com/erichmrakmusic/navigate-erich-mrak //

"Navigate" starts with these deep beats and then it almost immediately jumps right up with the vocals to something like Owl City or Hellogoodbye.    It has a pleasant vibe to it, like we're floating around on clouds or simply popping bubbles.    The beats kick in and this has the type of vocals where they sing along with the music, which isn't easy to do since this is electronics. 

"My life is sideways
Lost in the pretty lies
Trying to find the right way
To navigate through your mind"

At its core, this song is lyrically about trying to better understand someone.   I think we've all been there because even someone as anti-social as myself still feels these lyrics hit close to home.   It's one of those tough spots where maybe you feel like you know somebody and then they do something that makes you question whether or not you do know them at all so you're trying to get back on track, back to that place you were before where you felt closer to the person.

When you really think about the lyrics though, it becomes less of a "I need to figure you out" type of thing and it's more about figuring yourself out because being able to see people for who they are and just having a better understanding of people in general not only benefits them but it also benefits you.   So you have to think of it as one of those cheesy type of "help me help you" messages but obviously it's stated in such a better way than that.

This could ultimately be thought of as minimal electronic pop but with the vocals it gets taken to a different level.   I'm not sure I've ever heard any musician be able to combine the vocals and music so well- even when Frampton makes his guitar sing- and it just goes to show you what kind of song this is, that you need to listen to it even if you just want a quick lesson on how to blend the two and just make it feel so natural and easy.   But, you know, if you're also interested in self discovery and songs on the verge of pop there is also that reason to this as well.