Arbitrarily, with the same title as their debut, Your Day Will Come is an expertly crafted foray into full-time artistry by Chanel Beads, the pseudonym of NYC/Seattle’s Shane Lavers. Having released A&B-side singles, plus EPs, the discography of this act is not limited to only two projects, but those familiar will know just how grand of an experience delving into their full length work is.
Digitally, artwork put out by the musically mostly-solo endeavor is classically inspired, and as described by label Jagjaguwar, the music its visuals boast as timeless plays as ‘genre-averse.’ Thanks to Shane’s sibling’s own curation of listening habits plus a background in working at a library for the blind, the exploratory sounds all mesh.
First track, “Drums Only,” has a jazzy introduction with female-led, vocal accompaniment. A whirring grit to machinery revving is key in the disheveling of procedural tuning, but clarity is also a definite factor in the mix. Low-end thumping and spaced out bass notes bring instrumental novelty with pursed lips, almost needing to break through choral sanctity.
Second single, “Song for the Messenger,” has an immediate contrast with opening line, “I should fuckin’ burn in hell for what I said to you,” said with self-inflicted rage and sarcasm by a mysterious, feminine voice. It’s a fitting connection to the prior intro, thanks to flowing guitar chords: even with a gap between tracks, the overall runtime on YDWC is not without pauses, but a sense of perpetuity stands true. The spoken opening is foreboding as songbird-pitched vocals address dissociated perspectives of dramatics thought in extremes. With lyrics to match, “Got the eureka thinking when I’m walking home late, laughing at the flowers and the money went to waste…” an insistent inclusion of jovial, sonic bows for tying up tales leaves egos less than swelling.
Lead single “The Coward Forgets His Nightmare” is already one of my most-played songs this year according to Spotify—and for good reason. This piece anticipates long-term pressure for amounting to one’s own expectations while remaining humble and honest. There is a wide vision in regards to humanity, but also intentionally selfish, careful analysis occurring. Twinkling, synth-like strings not only defy genre, but also music-era characteristics with emotive vocal performances throughout. Simple melodies are experimented upon by heartbroken screeches saying, “When you’re out there running with disease in your feet, I thought the music would save you like it saved me, I pray the world will show you mercy like our daddy showed me, I thought I saw you smiling in all my memories… I can see the four horses spitting wine into your glass, And the beauty of you shining picking up outside the back, Don’t think anyone could ever feel this bad, I think I’m one in a million dip the key inside the bag.” These verses are completely over the top, but intricate in their composition that directs attention to crumbling under pressure.
“Profane Break,” track four, proves the muffled producer tag often utilized to introduce tunes by Chanel Beads is just that, and not a significant lyrical choice across songs, solidifying confidence in the project’s singularity of sound. Grunge riffs loop, and there is a clockwork to the progression of ambient tremors glamorously terrorizing the mix’s crunch. Pedal steel played by Mari Rubio is a marker of folky defiance to the modern quips and youthful approach of songwriting. “JBL in the Fireplace” serves lo-fi in the most general sense yet, and a palpable wash is broken up by electronic percussion that funk-ifies chiller piano. Crackling flames are scored by well-maintained dynamic shifts with leftovers of background content making recording’s procedural monotony into memory landmarks.
“Tyler Richard,” the sixth track, has an iota of comprehensive understanding in the always-layered vocal levels and shrapnel of sound effects, but Lavers manages to build upon characters in a way akin to nineties indie groups like Marcy Playground/Zog Bogbean or Toadies. The guitar work is gorgeous and leads into the next chapter, “Outside Your Life,” with a meditative instinct. Feedback then elevates as woodwinds would while kicky widespread mastery of components let details complete panning between ears. Softspoken, androgynous pining occurs, and there are glaring similarities to the outro of lead single, “The Coward…” Acted whimpers feel like the type of emotional comedy broadcast by Deaton Chris Anthony, an industry peer.
“Dust in the Wind,”the third single, has a DIY quality, a core tenet of Chanel Beads’ output. Ticking electric beats triumph majesty, considerably ABBA-like with paired strumming. Track nine, “Silver Cup” brands motifs that suit the almost medieval aesthetic of the gargoyle effaced moniker Shane releases under. This is one of the clearest moments of the stage being shared with other contributors’ performances at the forefront; it also feels truly rock and roll. “Opening in the Gate” has a jumpscare opening, but settles into being a standout track with an intensity that makes discordance beautiful. The dissonance would be presumably likable even to Sonic Youth frontwoman Kim Gordon who has shared her very particular affinity for newer groups making less accessible production choices.
Eleventh hymn, “Spirit Showing,” has an ineffable sense of ancient ruin in a very Gen-Z-palatable emo tuning. The ballad is concert expectant with throaty playing on words, and once again, the lead single’s melodic odyssey feels significant to another chorus, still avoiding redundancy. “Drunk Stupid in the Structure” lets cymbals carry life in woodland breadth, and unique tech-y manufacturing suits a more upbeat approach to the ongoing worldview expansion of Your Day Will Come. A cohesive attitude for composition is stamped, yet this song loses motivation more-so than other excerpts by the end of its already short duration.
Following number, “Boss,” is simply put: cool, with the most processed singing thus far and fully-chirping, attention-grabbing droplets of percussion that stand pat perfectly, thanks to sparse arrangement. It is shoegaze adjacent leading to closer, “Beaten With Sticks” that heavy-pedals piano in a motion reminiscent of more laidback moments on Kanye West’s magnum opus My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It also feels essential to reference–West’s collaborator–Frank Ocean’s impact on this decade’s use of post-pitching in vocal performances by newer artists. Industrial metronome holds up the choir’s farewell; “Yeah” is said in the first un-pitched/relaxed motion of the album followed by a clearing scoff; continued shuffling on the high end bears similarity to something like a pen scribbling or paper being crumpled at the end of a long writing session.
Lavers’ label bio states, “If his initial impulse was to poke fun at the apparatus that divides music into chapters, as the songs developed, Shane Lavers found the phrase carried deeper nuance, evoking the duel between certainty and doubt that preoccupied his psyche.” I personally find this notion to be very telling, and I also believe it is worth quoting the lead singer’s interview with GQ where he labeled the fashion reference of his alias by saying, “Sometimes you think someone has good style and [realize], ‘No, they just have a good smile right now.”
Described as not a band, but also not just solo, this alternative project features vocals by Maya McGrory stunningly captured on most tracks, as well as violin by Zachary Paul universally. Dreamy visuals engage the audience by utilizing grain to bring light to darkness, and one can only imagine how these decisions will play out on an upcoming global tour, a perfect setting for finding meaning within madness.
Your Day Will Come by Chanel Beads is out now.
Words by Maxwell Williams for Staged Haze
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