Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Colors are scheming together on screen much as our leading characters are, and yet rather than trying to focus on the detailed intricacies of what’s transpiring before our eyes, it’s the soundtrack in the background that seems to have the easiest of times grabbing our attention from the get-go. What do all of these components bring together, you ask?
Aside from being featured in the vibrant new music video for The Wheel Workers’s “Harbor,” they inspire a notion of devotedness that often goes without getting its proper due amid the mayhem that is 2023. The Wheel Workers are intent on reminding us of how amazing and downright ethereal that kind of closeness can be when it’s appreciated for the splendid shot of life that it is in “Harbor,” and for that, I do believe they deserve quite a bit of credit this October. Although their latest single and music video are sourced from a song that is undeniably on the experimental side, this group doesn’t act the part of a sophisticated indie band here at all – truth be told, quite the contrary. They’re giving a chunk of their soul in this recording, which in itself is something that should help people connect with the music this fall.
The drums in this track had my attention from the start, but I don’t think it’s because of their muscularity exclusively. On so many different fronts, the percussion can convey as much as the lyrical content in “Harbor” does, mostly through the textural expressiveness that it adds to the mix.
The harmonies here sport an uncompromising swell towards the chorus, but I would stop short of describing this specific moment as an example of sonic excess on the part of The Wheel Workers. They’re pretty good about steering clear of the overindulgences that have plagued the careers of their contemporaries in the last decade-plus in “Harbor,” and if you want proof, you needn’t look any further than the music video for this song to find exactly what you need. The video manages to make the words even more tangible to us, which isn’t as easy to do as it might seem on paper.
If you loved the work this band was doing before, I think you’re going to walk away with a very positive outlook on life after listening to this latest song. The Wheel Workers don’t pretend to break the mold in this single or its video; they add no fanciful frills into the big picture, and they certainly avoid the pitfalls of aural over-exuberance like it was devised by the worst of the modern wave. I don’t think this is a band that’s looking to sell out their aesthetics in the name of making a quick buck; they’re too invested in this performance and, frankly, too committed to this piece for anything like that to be the case.
Emily Knudsen
