How Long Will It Take

Time flows like a river. The first track on Orchid Mantis' 7th full-length offering interpolates this ancient expression, weilding it as a lyrical prompt to examine fate, loss, and some pristine future, still far off in the distance. "I don't ever know my destination, don't think about the time or how I'll get there." These opening lines prefigure Howard's persistent fixation on movement and liminality throughout the album - the result of a period of travel between the US, South Korea, and Sweden while writing and recording. Field recordings of subways and rooftops, references to airport motels and terminals are steeped in an anxious broth of regrets, what-ifs and existential unease, brought on by a private set of tumultous life events - both positive and negative. The music reflects these scattered emotions in its 15-track sprawl, from the Yume Nikki-inspired tape drift of "snow world" to the lo-fi electronics of "fate incarnate" and shoegaze of "Lucid Dreams." However, what remains consistent is the sonic fidelity brought on by Howard's first-time collaboration with a mixing engineer. The final three tracks of the album confront the same subject of moving on and letting go, each from different stages and moods. After the anguished questioning and philosophical angst of the title track "How Long Will It Take," "It Will Be Alright" arrives like a cleansing balm, promising that "Some things just heal with sleep and time." ❀"I Could Live In Sleep" listen/stream→ song.link/i-could-live-in-sleep ❀"How Long Will It Take" listen/stream→ song.link/howlongwillittake ❀"How Long Will It Take" music vid→ youtu.be/2Zwx2pNKTF4 ❀"Lucid Dreams" music vid→ youtu.be/MyUDeTOxZ-Q