Beautiful Chorus – High Frequency Love Music Review

What does Beautiful Chorus sound like?

If a yoga or medicine music vocal quartet took themselves clubbing.

The review of ‘High Frequency Love Music’ by Beautiful Chorus

“Just focus on loving yourself” is the chorus line on the opening title track from Beautiful Chorus’ new album. The usually almost a cappella vocal quartet have taken a bold new approach for their latest release. This 10-track album is stuffed full of electronic and RnB instrumentation designed to make Beautiful Chorus either float or groove. It is a huge departure from anything they’ve recently done yet the vocals are always front and centre in every bar of music.

Each song is a positive mantra that is chopped up into playful melodies. ‘I Bless My Life’ is a 90s club beat with soft flute synths and a low throbbing bass warble. Over the top, the quartet sing and interplay the sentence ‘I Love My Life’ like they are a synth machine. I can’t tell if they have arranged themselves to sound like a repeating reverb but it’s impressive if they have. The voices cascade with a punch over the beats. ‘Presence & Ease’ is a glistening and shimmering RnB piece whilst ‘Into My Power’ sounds like an Arabian Pussycat Dolls track. The music always has minimalist instrumentation but the kickdrum is double the volume of anything else. This helps the gentle soothing vocals not drown in the mix but it takes a bit of getting used to.

Underplayed dance synths and beats usher in the calming ‘We’ll Figure It Out’. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a Caribou album and neither would ‘Proud of Me’. The introduction of delicate twinkling electric keys and hand percussion makes this track stand out. Dreamy, uplifting and vocally designed to flow like a waterfall, it is the best example of what Beautiful Chorus is attempting with this album. The soulful ‘Wake Up’ is one of the few tracks that doesn’t riff solely on a single affirmation. Here, having something of a verse/chorus structure benefits the short piece. Beautiful Chorus embraces more dynamic lyrics with the bass guitar driven ‘Any Space’. It is a plodding track full of empty sound effects that dress the quartet in a way that lets their low-end shine.

The album closes with the two longest tracks on the album but only one of them crosses three minutes. ‘Trusting Myself’ is an electric pop anthem in waiting. Whilst plenty of synths are used, Beautiful Chorus dedicate a whole layer of melody to their soothing ‘oohs’ which for most of the album has been synths. It makes the sound wider and fuller from a vocal perspective and then they sing their affirmations over the top. The final track is ‘Into The Void’. Encompassing both the soulful RnB and the electronic sides of the album, it is the most dynamic and shape-shifting track. It fades in and out of moods and styles like a dream sequence and makes me yearn for more unusual takes on this kind of music from the group in the future.

‘High Frequency Love Music’ is an oddity in the best way possible. Whilst some of the production sounds a little thin or muddied what shines through are the vocal arrangements and the intent to groove. The beats and softer synths work a treat and Beautiful Chorus nails their vocal arrangements as always. Artists run the risk of sounding gimmicky when something new age and meditative crosses into electronica but Beautiful Chorus stays well clear of that line. This is like Ayurvedic electronic chorus music for the soul.

Recommended track: Proud of Me

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