Justin Weems AKA Faint Waves released these three today. Singles that never made it to anyone's ears but his. They simply didn't fit into any of his other releases.
Today, they are yours!
Feed them, nurture them, take them out and throw the ball around a little. If you're younger, sit down with them and watch Blue's Clues together. If you're younger than that, I can't help you.
Included is some stuff that Justin said about each of them as published on Bandcamp.
"Fireflies"
"Fireflies" is a Fleetwood Mac homage that I originally just titled "Everywhere" after the Fleetwood Mac song of the same name (it bares little resemblance to that tune but Tango In The Night as an album served as an obvious inspiration, along with Mirage). The folk-tinged guitar and "green", breathy, sparkling soundscape put me in the same head space as the former record (especially the Tango B-Sides). The song took shape between late 2022 and early 2023 during the One True World sessions. It was intended for that full length album, but as you know, One True World would never come out. Some songs from those sessions would go on to become single releases of their own, like City Of Night. Fireflies was an outlier that never fit any version of the album, nor any particular single or EP, and thus remained unreleased. Until now."
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"Acid Blue"
"Acid Blue" has gone by a lot of names, most notably "Deeper Waves". I instead opted for a more apt title, given the prominent use of the TB-303 in the song. This was one that came together pretty quickly in early 2023 during the One True World sessions, by the middle of the year it was completely finished. It's not some thrilling piece of music, I like it, but it's a mood piece that would end up a B-Side at best. Not only that, it didn't particularly fit anywhere, it came about during a period when I was listening to a lot of Moby, The Orb, and KLF; it definitely reflects that I think. There was a point when the album (One True World) was leaning very late 80's and early 90's, a lot of Trip-Hop and Chillout influence, in addition to the more standard Synthpop and New Age inspiration. Acid Blue could've worked in that context, but alas, it never fully materialized that way; the song was simply shelved, until now."
"Velvet Star"
"Velvet Star" has something of a storied history, especially for a track that's never seen the light of day. It began life in 2023 as a remix for a completely different unreleased tune, that will remain unreleased, called "Best Friends". That track was basically a 90's big beat joint that was inspired by Fatboy Slim, Groove Armada, and The Wiseguys. It was piano-centric and in the background, featured audio of me and my friends taken from various hangouts and parties that took place close to a decade ago now. When I was working on the maxi-single package for Best Friends, I wanted to do a remix that was informed by Air’s Moon Safari. It became so different from a melodic standpoint, very little of the original track was left, so it spun off into its own song: Velvet Star. I thought about doing an EP along the lines of this sound but never did, so the song sat unreleased, until now."
What are your thoughts on these releases?