April 23, 2021 | Writer: Eric Reyes
Not really a criticism but just typing out this artist’s name and song title were an effort all their own. Now that that’s out of the way, let me just gush all over this. Cocaethylene by Angelino Amoureux is definitely something to sit in a dark, musty living room and smoke cigarettes you stole from your aunt while she slept in the front room.
The Lo-Fi/Indie genre has really seen a massive boom in recent years. It could be our collective sense of apathy and sadness, lack of direction, lack of energy and drive, of hope. OR, it could be that the genre speaks to the anxieties that feed into those sentiments.
I just got all these flashbacks to those pauses in the chaos of youth in a post 9-11 world where the future was at once full of possibility and empty. Sitting in my friend’s car while we all took swigs from a cheap bottle of popov vodka because we didn’t have anything better to do on a Friday night. Sitting outside next to a makeshift bonfire and inhaling the secondhand smoke of your crush without saying a word because you just wanted to be next to them. Yes, I got all of this from the track, don’t judge me.
This genre is definitely a sensory experience more than an outright, traditional musical experience. Whereas the lyrics definitely are full of their own angst and feeling, it’s the vibe more than the content that really gets at you.
So, go ahead and wear a hoodie under a jacket, pull on a pair of mid-thigh gym shorts, plop an oversized beanie on your head and go lay out under the stars with this track crackling from your car speakers. If you really want the full experience, snag a cigarette and just let it smolder, don’t even worry about taking a drag.