Yv Shells‘s “Loss” feels like the onset of something big.
Featuring a dreamy undertone firmly established, with tingling guitar riffs quietly dancing in the back, “Loss” carries a steady tempo dazzled with prog-rock inspired drum. An intriguing bass line plays out through the track, later joined by a future-house, electronic breakdown as Yv Shells’s vocal drones and distorts, the buildup never ends till the track fades out. “Loss” sonically mimics the mystery that trigger a full force infatuation and obsession over a person. Yv Shells skillfully sets out to recreate the gradual buildup of said obsession with the song’s progression–it stalks and persists quietly till the collateral damages collapse all at once.
The music video on the other hand, is one dreary masterpiece. Whether it is Yv Shells himself hung upside down, backlit with a daunting green light the opening scene, or the way subjects are positioned upright in the most unsettling way possible throughout different settings, this makes a perfect trailer for a psychological thriller. Unlike the track’s fusion of punk, funk, soul, and R&B, the music video is oddly Western-inspired. From the 80s Neo-Soul wallpaper, to the cow print rugs and the Western fringe mask, only a David Lynch film gives the same sense of bizarreness and dream-like quality.
“Loss” provides so much all while concealing a clear storyline. While it is no doubt a visual feast and sonic treat all in one, Yv Shells demonstrates just the right amount of his master mind to keep everyone intrigued.
