Album Review: filous — For Love EP
Austrian DJ and music producer filous released new music this October — the For Love EP. The 20-year-old collaborates with Mat Kearney, klei, and Emily Warren on this newest EP. Let’s see how it all panned out.
1. “Vienna by the Sea” — ft. Mat Kearney — 7/10
This track is about being on the road and missing the one you left behind at home. I love Mat Kearney, so it’s exciting to hear him collaborate with filous on For Love, and his voice sounds fabulous, per usual. However, this track didn’t wow me — there are nice moments, but it’s not one that I’m going to play on repeat. The rain sounds on the intro are a nice touch, as are the percussive accents at 1:30. I like the chorus, but wish the “oohs” were rather played on an instrument than sung — they’re a bit grating.
2. “For Love” — ft. klei — 5/10
This messy track is the EP’s low point. Describing what one would sacrifice for love, klei and filous decide, “except for my girls and the drugs, / I’d give it up for love.” With these superficial lyrics and boring choruses, this track was underwhelming.
3. “Goodbye” — ft. Mat Kearney — 6/10
“Goodbye” follows its predecessors to a tee — relatively simple lyrics accompanied by dance/electronic drops on the choruses. Mat Kearney’s vocals are nice, but otherwise this track is a bit boring — there’s no bridge to add any new elements to the track, and the instrumentation doesn’t vary at all.
4. “Knots” — ft. keir — 8/10
For Love takes a much needed turn for the better on “Knots.” The concept behind the lyrics is more complex (discussing a powerful love but a simultaneous fear of commitment), the rhythms on the chorus are syncopated and add some much needed intrigue, and klei’s vocals have a nice interesting tone to them. While I wish there were a couple more layers of instrumentation to make the choruses a bit more attention-grabbing, overall “Knots” is a step in the right direction for filous.
5. “Already Gone” — ft. Emily Warren — 9/10
And with “Already Gone,” For Love has officially turned it around. This quiet, mellow track is calming, catchy, and thoughtfully composed. Warren’s smooth, vocals have a really nice tone and the crescendo at 0:50 is perfection. The panning is also a really nice effect — when listening on headphones, you’ll only hear the crescendo in your right ear, just adding another layer of intricacy to the track.
6. “Can’t Wait” — 9/10
filous ends on a strong note with “Can’t Wait.” The drop on the choruses is very peaceful and relaxing, and the quiet vocals — I presume provided by filous himself — were really nice. The instrumental break didn’t really add anything to the track and felt a bit like a false ending, but the actual ending was well-executed.
Ultimately: 7.5/10
filous didn’t wow me from the get-go, but things definitely started looking up on the second half of the EP. The first three tracks seem less intentionally- and thoughtfully-crafted than I would like, but the lyrics, instrumentation, and melodies drastically improved over the last three tracks. Let’s hope this upward trend continues as filous goes on to create more music.
