Synthwave Review: Constant by Hotel Pools

:KongDance: This review was originally written on the main Agora Road website :KongDance:

View: https://hotelpoolsmusic.bandcamp.com/album/constant

Constant by Hotel Pools is a Synthwave album that was released on July 12th 2019. Now first, let's take a moment and view the beauty of the album cover design. The artwork was done by Andrew Walker from designince86.com and as I browse through his website, it seems like he has done a lot of album covers like Electronic Gems.

The album cover of Constant has a mixture of traditional vaporwave aesthetics like the palm leaves and the futuristic nature of synthwave music encapsulated in space with a melting sun. It tells the listener that this album will "melt you away" that you should expect that this is not a dance album, it's best listened to in a social environment with your friends.
As always below is some of the synthwave tracks in the album that stood out to me. Enjoy!

Accelerate– The first track of the album instantly brings you into a chill temporal vibe. It has a smooth solid rhythm but brings you into a drift in the music. It really brings you up out of your chair to excite you with possibilities of what the album will be like. And just as quickly as this synthwave song started, it quickly ends with what sounds like rocket ships blasting off.
What this synth track may be trying to convey is that after this song, you will be in a CONSTANT state of euphoria.

s o l o – Now this is what I'm talking about! This just screams spacesuit man. I must admit that it has some "Stranger Things" characteristics starting off. But Hotel Pools have really made this one of his own.

It makes me feel like I'm floating into the emptiness of space, I can visualise a spaceman up there wandering with me and guiding me in the stars. This song just has an unique flavor to it that can only be fully appreciated when you are around the people u love and the freinds you miss. However the name s o l o does convey the opposite haha. But take it how you what to interpret the song in your own way.

Disconnect– This song gives me a different vibe from space, i'm getting a more of a synthlike tropical vibe for me. And I know exactly why, it's the subtle flutes in the background throughout this song. It brings me from the stars down to the beaches.

This is the mark where the art of the album cover really comes into play. Disconnect exposes the duality of space and time, and shows an amazing piece of work.

Melt– Melt makes you feel drifty, like it has an aroma of fuzz in the mind. It seems like Melt wants to take the album into a different direction like it wants to put you in a scenery of smokey futuristic city ruins.

Melt main beat just runs very slow and has a little touch of piano jazz. I like to close my eyes and imagine a bar that's littered cyberpunk scoundrels lurking in underbelly society. Reminds me of Akira. When you are listening to this song make sure to stay asleep because you want to experience this song in your dreams.

Overall, Constant by Hotel Horizon was a joy to listen too with the gang. You can truly dignify the beauty and art in this album. But in saying that, we need to realize that It's hard to find meaning in things that we enjoy, maybe it's just best to stop thinking so much and not overanalyze stuff. Just listen to the music and stay CONSTANT.
 

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