MRI is an album written by the artist VC Pines about his experiences with epilepsy and synesthesia. In May 2023, VC released "Colours" as a single. "Colours" is a big theme for this album, as the artist mentioned that due to his experiences he now visualizes sounds as colors. Shortly after this release, "Dangling" and "Running" were also dropped as singles. The genre of this music style is difficult to pinpoint but could be described as some type of electro indie pop.
The full album was released four months later, with 7 more songs all adding up to just over 35 minutes. The first song in the album is "Chamber." I find the title of this song to be very clever because the song itself paints a picture of what I assume to be getting an MRI scan which is something that the artist feels trapped in a ‘chamber’ doing. ‘Running,’ ‘Damn Different,’ and ‘Dangling’ are the next three on the album. All three of these songs are very motivational and encourages the listener to “keep running” when they want to “slow down.” Where they want to run away from their mind but know they cannot, so they keep “dangling in the wind.” Next up is “Love lost,” this one is like “Dangling” when thinking they’ve made a mistake in a crowd of people but then quickly switches up to a love song in a way. “SUPERMAN” is my personal favorite song on this album. It is one of those songs that sends shivers all throughout your body and makes your heart sink a little.
Colours is next up in the album. I like the way VC organized the album, especially with the placement of “Colours.” The song’s volume is a lot quieter compared to Superman but still has an upbeat feel and sets up for the next song, “No One’s Gonna Save U,” nicely. This song is another one of my favorites, it has a different vibe than the rest of the album but still fits in. “Sweet Silhouette” stands out because of how calm and continuous its background beat is. With most of the other songs on the album the instrumental backing is continuously switching. But in this song, it stays at the same pace, level, and sound which gives it a much calmer vibe.
Finally, the last song on the album, “Matches.” I would say this song is one of the best written ones out of the album, explaining that the “Dark times are just a day away, let me guide you” to ensure the safety of whoever the song is directed towards. My takeaway from this song is VC going through this difficult, dark, scary time in his life and pushing through it with enough strength to guide someone else through the same experience. It is safe to say that VC completed his task very well, when listening to the album in its entirety it truly feels like you can almost see the colors the way he sees them intertwining with one another.
Favorite Tracks: “Love Lost” ; “SUPERMAN” ; “No One’s Gonna Save U” ; “Matches”
-Mallie Altmann
