If it’s some endearingly heartful, indie-folk you’re after, look no further than local Naarm outfit, Wybie. Since playing their first fully formed show as a quintet in Stargazed Records’ Showcase at Kindred Bandroom back in 2021, creative orchestrator Kyle Muir and co. have concocted a follow-up to the delightful debut EP, Wybies Mansion. Having already offered a taste from the new release in that of single, ‘Seconds’ we here at HUM are delighted to display another peek in ‘Fly Big Balloon’.
Plush polyrhythms between the introductory drums and arpeggiated guitar act as splendid sedatives enchanting one’s senses into an immersive calm early on. It reflects a seamless marriage of Muir's roots in instrumental folk and later interest in West African music as cascading cymbals splash throughout, embellishing the composition with an air of further levity. A break and build give way to a more direct and driving drumline as the sun-soaked second passage elevates the element of hypnotic bliss mirroring the flight of the balloon being sung about.
With Muir observing a certain spontaneity when devising lyrics for his melodies, ‘Fly Big Balloon’ would appear to be one such example where extemporaneous inspiration is driven by the music itself. In allowing the colour of the arrangement to reveal the song’s poetic purpose, an incantation revolving around, “Fly big balloon and I’ll wait here on the ground” surfaces. With so few words, the track rather creates a canvas and enthuses the listener to impart their own experience and beliefs onto it. It creates a far more personal and pleasurable listen when we ourselves can colour in the detail to the narrative of the balloon soaring through the sky on it’s maiden and only voyage.
Having established a solid foundation of serenely compelling jazz-infused folk with their debut EP, both teases of the upcoming album have us teeming with eagerness for the new record. Just as this balloon elevated exponentially, Wybie themselves are set to sonically do similar.