In the blink of an eye, situations change. You probably already knew that, but you’re likely also thinking about that in a negative sense—the train that stalled in the station, the one $20 bill that you shouldn’t have taken at work, the ambulance that picks you up from the venue. We often blame the stars for those shortcomings, like some invisible bandit that likes to sneak up beside us and stick out its leg into our path. Not our fault that the system glitched out, we want to say.
Partials want to give humankind some credit, at least. Athens’ six-piece dance mystics might channel retro-futuristic mojo in their Talking Heads-ish bustle, as they’ve done with their debut Glossolalia back in April. But in their latest single “Incredible Speed,” the band argues with twitchy conviction that individuals can jumpstart themselves right now into orbit. There’s a particular “she” here, a vague sentient creation set running against the video’s twilight cityscape (courtesy of pixel artist waneella); yet, as Partials explain, that “she” personifies the propulsion that might lie dormant in us all. In their mythos, the switch that could rocket us from fatalistic and still to a self-willed jet could be the simple choice to get up and groove. “We feel a deep connection when we find something that the whole audience can really move to,” says the band over email. “The ‘she’ in the song personifies that force, and the sense of power that comes with it.”
So situations can still change in a snap, sure. But if you can fight inertia and move on the dance floor, then just think of what else you could blaze through with your own will. The good stuff can hurtle forward like a magnet train, too, and you can thank Partials for driving this one, but who knows when you’ll find yourself at the wheel.
More Info
Web: partialsband.com
Bandcamp: partialsmusic.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @partialsathens
Instagram: @partials_music
SoundCloud: @partialsmusic