Author: Eli Serrato/Ani Carlson Commentary: Vocalist Michael Moret Photo: Courtesy of Liquid Cypher Liquid Cypher, a prog rock/rap band from Austin Texas, has recently put their single “Turquoise” out into the world. With the perfect blend of technical, twinkly guitar riffs and bass lines, as well as some effervescent 808 drum beat action, this four piece could easily slide right into the mix of Polyphia and Night Verses. "The songwriting process is pretty consistent between Mason and I." Vocalist Michael Moret commented. "He sends me a song that's pretty developed and a song title. I take that and allow it to be the inspiration for the song." Beginning mellowly acoustic and calming, “Turquoise” is quick to pick up the pace with the introduction of electric -yet clean- guitar, an increase in tempo, and those 808’s I mentioned earlier. Vocalist Michael Morêt enters the picture in the fashion of Jordan Dreyer (La Dispute); alluring poetry at (around) 170 beats per minute. The song itself takes an interesting route with the lyrics and the music. In a way they coexist but in the sense that both reflect the EXACT emotion the narrator wants you to feel. At the beginning, whether it's infatuation or being in love, you want to know all the details about someone, including their favorite color. It's a nice detail that remains for the entire song, the narrator's perspective on their significant other's favorite color. Moret on the inspiration of the single: "My favorite color is turquoise, so I had an attachment to the color even before the song. What I really liked about the instrumentation of this song is the back and forth. It would go from more chill to aggressive. It gave me the idea of writing a song about the beginning and aftermath of a relationship." "So I took that concept and ran with it. The idea of “your girlfriends favorite color” takes on different meanings throughout the song. During the happy times its more “I love you so much what's your favorite color” and during the aftermath of the relationship its more of 'I dont give a shit what your favorite color is.'" Is it weird to say that the song actually sounds like turquoise? To its core, the color is a complicated blend of blue and green. Turquoise, the song, is a blend of emotions that most people feel in relationships. The song progresses with whispers that I'm assuming are just a look into the thoughts of our protagonist and all the things they feel like saying being a cluster of words. Whether intentional or not it really is a good transition into the next part of the song that gives the listener a feeling of yearning. At 3:56 we see a change in the song with the sound and lyrics. It's a bittersweet feeling when you listen. "They say time is money, and I can't afford," gave me goosebumps. It's a really unique song that does an amazing job at making the listener understand how the vocalist feels and what he's going through at every stage. Especially here, they're coming to terms with everything and realizing the beauty in something that was otherwise just a bad memory for them. Near the end, we go back to this mystical feel that we got at the beginning of the song which brings the whole thing full circle. When we go through these experiences they aren't just a one time thing. It's almost always certain that it'll happen once again. Turquoise doesn't make you feel bad about it either. You want to be able to go through all these crazy emotions. It's what makes them worth experiencing. Things don't always have to be ruined for you because of the person and memories you attach to them. Eventually, you'll heal and enjoy them again.