A memorable rock passion stirs on “Aepex,” a track from Los Angeles-based artist Taleen Kali that embraces fuzzy guitar textures, heavy breakbeat drums, and ardent vocal ascents — beckoning to “take me higher than high” with soaring immersion. The release also draws from the artist’s Middle Eastern and L.A. punk roots, inspired especially from Armenian and Lebanese melodies. The grooving, hypnotic bass lines and breakbeat drums pair with the riveting vocal performance and electrifying guitar textures for a standout success from Taleen Kali.
“Aepex” shows a delectable, memorable sound in its swirl of shoegaze-y rock charm and vocal mystique, particularly during a one-minute turn where ghostly vocal mystique shifts seamlessly into the “take me higher…” yearning. The release also represents the first time Taleen herself served as co-producer on an original track, and the first time that bassist Miles Marsico played drums on a recording. Excellent guitar work comes via both Royce Hsu, the band’s former guitarist, and Genevieve Quiquivix, their new guitarist. Touring drummer Anthony Schillaci also lends his talents within.
Taleen Kali elaborates on the track:
“There’s a point after which you can’t keep driving up against the current anymore. You just want to pierce through it. I grew up in L.A. It’s my home. I love being in DIY community here. And yet sometimes being in the music scene during these dark political times can feel so daunting. Capitalism makes artists compete, turning us into content machines churning ourselves to a pulp. That’s where I got the idea for ‘Aepex.’ I don’t just want to keep pushing upward into oblivion. ‘Aepex’ is the pinnacle of pleasure. A crest. A threshold. It’s about how meaningless the chase can be and finding other ways to forge meaning, finding transcendence amidst chaos and madness. All of these elements started driving me toward a darker direction, both during the songwriting process and in the studio when we were redefining our sound.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
