美杜莎

Medusae is the 4th studio album by multi-national, Chengdu born, Proximity Butterfly, to be released on January 31st 2015 by Maybe Mars. Medusae immediately “dives into the thoughts of a mind both delicate and aggressive.” From a dreamy onset through a tumultuous hypnosis and return to the layers of harmonic states of emotional calm, this album demonstrates the musical strength by its departure from Reprieve, a concept-album with many cinematic undertones.

The album is inspired by Joshua C. Love’s relationship with his mother and the struggles women endure and accept on a daily basis. This compromise of self-value has remained a driving force in the songwriting and illustrates the processes of self-destruction while seeking new ways to “give life to our old dead selves.” From tracks like Resting Palace, You & I, and Happy Ending, the lyrics send an empowering message of self-encouragement. “I haven’t seen my mother in 5yrs and I’m not exactly sure how to heal the gap between us. Writing these songs is like my last chance to reach her heart.”

The term Medusae reflects upon two varying yet similar concepts. The first derived from the ancient Greek story of a woman with venomous snakes writhing from her head, able to turn to stone anyone daring to look at her. While the other reflection plays off of the sexual forms of the Jellyfish, in several languages called ‘medusae’, an animal capable of altering its sexual development/association for the sake of procreation. Some jellyfish are known as being infinite due to their capacity to revert back to their polyp state when nearing old age or disease. They simply are born again. While a woman is so strongly guided by advertisements in magazines and other media sources as to what she should wear and what she should look like, it is time for her to cleanse herself of these social diseases and redefine her existence. It is but one stage of our social evolution.

Medusae scales an almost schizophrenic collision of the emotions that cloud the human psyche, seeking resolve in the form of sentimental maturity. In a digital age of constant virtual realities, Medusae brings us back to that magic that makes us imaginative, sincere and human. An album that embraces an infinite regeneration of how to evolve, it remains both honest and optimistic. We all have daily stresses that seem impossible to overcome, but we can be reborn if we so choose.