The music video for the cryptic single from JHelix, “Baby Yellow (In a Dream)” is perhaps no more obvious in its dispensing of the track’s narrative as the song is by itself, but all the same, it’s one of the more visually captivating pieces I’ve come across in indie pop/rock lately. Comprised of imagery that indeed feels as though it were taken directly from a dream, “Baby Yellow (In a Dream)” speaks to us through faceless postmodern players, equally surreal sonic depth and a dry sense of melodic charm that resembles vulnerability in a strange way. Structurally barebones and cosmetically indulgent, JHelix truly outdoes himself here.
The faded guitar element is always the most cerebral part in “Baby Yellow (In a Dream),” and once you’ve heard the single for yourself, you’ll understand just how big a statement this is for any critic to make. Every piece of the music here sounds as though it’s been copied from a copy of a copy, with the abrasive edge in the original document being lost in translation. What results in this washout of rhythm and harmony isn’t as abstract as it might sound on paper – in all actuality, it feels a lot more raw and emotional than most anything else I’ve heard lately.
JHelix is a deep underground player without question, and in this provocative effort he pays stunning home to his indie influences that paved the way for his career and that of a modern movement within the American and British undergrounds today. “Baby Yellow (In a Dream)” is crossover electropop with the heart and soul of a gothic rock epic, and from where I sit, it’s one of the more inspired tracks of its kind to win the affections of the press and critics like myself in the past couple of months.
