The Arma Mirage & The Current State of Music

The Arma Mirage | When The Quiet Sounds Alarm EP | Reviewed By: Kim Johnson |

When I first found I loved music more than anything else this world had to offer, I used to study albums. I’d sit in my room for hours and attempt to teach myself what a work of art sounded like and what a piece of shit sounded like. I’d sit and admire the grace and vulnerability of Circa Survive’s Jurturna, or the melodic metalcore of Underoath’s They’re Only Chasing Safety.

I used to memorize every lyric to every song and emulate the lead singer’s every move. I remember having pre-meditated explanations for when a parent or a sibling would walk in on me pretending to be Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam or Tim McIlrath of Rise Against. Those were the years I grew into my skin and eventually into the person I am today. I recall the loss of my innocence as I smoked my first cigarette or drank my first sip of rum on the front porch of a friend I’ve never fully been able to understand.

Years later, I find myself so thankful for the musicians who unknowingly fathered me, and the lyrics that lead me into teen-hood. But some days I feel so insecure about the state of the music scene as a whole, not just genre for genre.

Music RAISED me. Like a child to their caregiver, I looked to music to comfort me and give new meaning to things I couldn’t understand. The fact that I haven’t been spiritually compelled by most of the music coming out lately scares me.

The Arma Mirage genuinely restores some of the confidence I lost for this age of music.

With this band I find layers–layers that go beyond genres, lyrical meanings, and emotions. I can personally tack a moment in my life onto each and every song off of When The Quiet Sounds Alarm. Whether painful or joyous, shameful or enlightening, I don’t feel the need to fake it anymore. There was a period of time when I stopped teaching myself how to separate art from shit. I allowed myself to be taught to tolerate the injustice of an album with an absolute counterfeit sentiment. Never again will I allow myself to be force-fed the quality of music I used to accept. I say it’s time to get back to when music made you cry because it brought up something inside of you and pulled it out for the world to see.

One song off of the EP that really hit home for me was “In Negative Space”. From what I understand, the song is about a female figure walking out on you. I’m guessing it was meant for a girlfriend but I can’t be sure. My initial instinct was to relate it to the relationship I have with my mother: “A sharp bite of cold/As foot steps in the snow/ Lead out the back door/ No one ever says goodbye anymore/There’s no stopping her/And soon she’ll become/ Just another vacancy in this hotel suite/ That I have yet to fill.”

Do you remember when 90% of songs were as captivating as this? Nowadays, this a rarity that shouldn’t be taken for granted. I steadily believe every person deserves to feel like music has meaning again. The Arma Mirage have done something in 5 songs that bands these days can’t accomplish in a 15-track release! Restore the worth of musicianship and quality by supporting artists who compel and enthrall instead of ones who are just digging us deeper into a musical rut of the same old sound.