One of my long time interests is Metaphysics and the new three song EP release, Revolutions, from the duo "Mystery Loves Company" has opened up quite a deep rabbit hole. But first I'll tell you about their music. They call themselves Chamber Folk Rock and consist of newlyweds Carlos, a guitarist / song writer originally from Venezuela, and Madeline (Maddy), a conservatory trained cellist. Their acoustic instrumentation along with the thoughtful lyrics and ethereal vocals from Maddy along with somewhat less ethereal vocals from Carlos, gives Mystery Loves Company a very dreamlike sound, except for the title track, Revolutions, which is more nightmarish than dreamlike but still otherworldly.
The song, Aliens, is more fun sounding than the other two tracks while still touching on the overall theme that transcends normal love/dance/party songs but it's the lead off single, If Heaven, that is the center of this conversation.
Mystery Loves
Company’s press kit claims the 3-song EP, Revolutions, is an extension of their socially
conscious work and the material has been quick to spark political and
spiritual conversation amongst their diverse fan base. “People from
vastly different religious and non-religious backgrounds have told us we
are capturing ‘exactly how they feel” Carlos notes, reflecting on the
reaction lead-off single “If Heaven” has received when played live. “We
are living in a time where human emotion is being mobilized and we are
responding to this movement through song.”
Okay, I don't know what, exactly, Carlos means by that except in political terms but in "religious' terms "If Heaven" does seem to reflect a growing Post New Age attitude. Its lyrics illustrate the same problem I had as a child when taught the Christian concept of Heaven. "A wonderful place" where there are no problems (challenges), no dangers (thrills), no dirt (not an appealing concept to a young boy) and because my mother was a Jew and my father an excommunicated Catholic (probably because of marrying my mother), no parents either (at least for me). But what really bother me the most was that my pet bunny rabbit (all pets, animals in general) were not allowed entry to Heaven. How is that anybody's concept of Heaven?
"If Heaven" explores this same general dilemma but from a slightly more grown up perspective.
In the decade since San Gabriel Christian School first tried, and utterly failed, to indoctrinate me (why would a Jew and a Catholic send their kid to a Christian school?), I have studied many philosophies, from Buddism, to New Age to Quantum Physics. I eventually developed a philosophy that was unique enough that I named it myself; Nealism. However, I recently learned there is a movement that is close enough for me to adopt, forsaking Nealism, and it's called Biocentrism.
The concept of Nealism was that, essentially, we are all like characters in a video game (pre-dating and slightly different from Elon Musk's Sim City Heaven). Science seeks to explain the How, What, Why, Where and Who of our game world but can't think outside the box (the Idiot Box) because it, of course, cannot perceive anything beyond our video game world. The video game scientists can't imagine the people playing the game (Gods?), the creators of the game (programmers, monitor and computer manufacturers, game designers, etc.), the power source of All That Is in their world (electricity) and where, when, how and why all of those things came to be.
Biocentrism is a lot more "scientific" than Nealism's simplistic (but at least understandable, I hope) concept and basically states that consciousness creates reality, not the other way around which is what we've all been taught. Except if you remember one of the first lessons they ever taught you in Kindergarten where they, as do "Mystery Loves Company", used music to teach lessons; "... merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream".
Rounding out the
sound on the EP along with Carlos A. Machado on guitar, vocals and the
band's lyricist, and Madeline Herdeman on cello and vocals are Jeremy
Dudman on bass, Danny Patterson on drums and Alauna Rubin playing clarinet. The choir vocals are credited to
Cathy Herdeman, Kali Schiska and Christine Gerbode with recording,
mixing and mastering by Jeremy Dudman who co-produced the EP with
Carlos.Good job to all, Revolutions is an excellent sounding work, just
too short, which is a complement.
Oh, one last thing about the ethereal, cosmic Chamber Rock duo Mystery Loves Company, they're from Houston, Texas (?!)
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