Music Review // Aura Blaze "Open-Mindedness"

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/aurablaze/open-mindedness //

When "Open-Mindedness" first starts, the titular track comes through in this disco/funk/rock way with those high pitched vocals going through the chorus.  It reminds me of something between Jamiroquai and Gnarls Barkley, though there are also some psych swirls to give it a throwback to the 1960's as well.    This takes us into the second song- "The Summer Solstice"- which makes me think of "Charlie's Angels" right away and then just turns into this sort of hippy, upbeat melody.

The third and final song on this EP is a cover of "The Only One I Know", perhaps the most well known song by The Charlatans, and it is just a lot of fun with laser blasts and keys galore.   There is laughing and those organ keys which just seems to place this song at such a specific moment in time.   What I like about this cover as well is that it could help those who know of the original song get into Aura Blaze and if you've never heard of The Charlatans before then this might be your introduction to them.

What I really like about the lyrics within the first song is that we're posed with the question that if Aura Blaze was to hold information which could save the world and that information was presented to the world, would anybody listen?  I think that in light of the global pandemic starting in 2020 we can easily determine who would listen and who wouldn't listen to the warning.  Especially within the United States, people would say "But my freedom" instead of doing whatever needed to be done to save the world.  It's such an interesting point to ponder and makes me think of "Idiocracy" as being more of a future documentary.

Though only three songs, this EP by Aura Blaze is quite the trip and I just find myself getting lost within it.   It could be quite the experience for an artist to put this on- especially if it was an album and went a bit longer- and just vibe out with it while painting or whatever their medium might be.   But I do also just feel like even though this isn't on the most calm and quiet side of music, it can be helpful with reflecting in the same way one might while meditating.