The latest drop by Canadian indie artist Jordan Paul, “Archetype X”, is one in a series of singles set for release this year. Blending alt, folk, and a myriad of other influences, its style defies neatly fitting into any one category.
Just like most of his other works, “Archetype X” was recorded in a cabin at the foot of the Rockies at Protection Island Studios.
An echo of that isolation carries into Jordan Paul’s ethereal tenor lines. The emotionally tender ballad teeters on an epiphany of introspection, driven forward with the steady beat of 909 hi-hats.
Each line resonates like a remembered desire, not a question posed to an object. The ghostly harmonies constrained in the sonic space reflect an internal longing. Even the video’s grainy claymation depicting the birth and death of prior failed archetypes leaves the viewer raw with unanswered questions.
“Archetype X, why were you born?” sings Paul as the building layers boil over into the climax.
From a tranquil opening to a cacophonous conclusion, layers of genre-bending sonic explorations probe the cathartic pain of introspection. And it lingers.
“While you were on your own, what did you learn? I want to know you.”
The last vocal line concludes with silence and a skipping record. The video announces “the end”; but was there an answer?
Watch the official music video below.
Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
