Synth A/B Single Review: “Two Worlds Apart” by The San Junipero Experience
by Karl Magi
The San Junipero Experience’s “Two Worlds Apart” begins with an ominous sound rising along with Zsuzsi Szabó’s French voice-over. It has a cool and simultaneously emotional quality as it echoes above the synth, slowly passing by, touched by a slowly shimmying beat as the extended chords levitate.
Balazs Specker’s roughness-tinged vocals carry the haunting melody along with twisting, crystalline notes and a fuzzed-out guitar crying in the background. Rising tones convey early morning light while the guitar melody climbs with thrill and a feeling of epic dynamism, mingled with Balazs Specker’s powerfully felt vocal performance.
The undulating underpinnings shift as the steady pulse again supports Zsuzsi Szabó’s voice-over and the vocals belt out with honest strength as the guitar grasps emotion and sends it flying in my direction while the chorus climbs, with the guitar broadcasting brilliance while the foundation presses on. Now the song ends with an answering-machine message and the music closes.
As the first narrator points out that something happened that morning when they woke up beside each other that she doesn't really understand. She adds, "my thoughts were all jumbled up, like in a smoky bar at night” when everyone's speaking loudly, words are lost and "you can't really feel things anymore." She's unsure of how she feels but is thinking of the second narrator and says, "I love you, call me back."
Our second narrator wonders if he's still dreaming or if he's awake because "I didn't have the input to measure it or estimate." His heart is "up and running" and the sequence has already begun with "her scent all in my brain." He's still haunted by the first narrator's voice that just keeps on coming. He says, "I'm trapped and hypnotized in a daydream full of lies."
As they are "two worlds apart, drifted hearts drowning in memories," the second storyteller says "it's all over you, falling premises of promises.” Having been "taught to count forever, to wait patiently” by the second storyteller, our first storyteller says,"time is already slipping away from our world " as they hide behind silences and "wear masks so we don't have to face our demons" rather than saving their love.
The second narrator finds her desperate words charming but “my thoughts keep on pounding, sweet drops from the perfume of pain.” In their “losing game of passion” there isn’t a correct direction and he concludes that, “no choice can work for us, in this maze we’ve bloomed to be lost!”
To conclude, our first storyteller points out that we get hurt and start from the beginning with "the same story going around and around, no beginning, no end." their story finishes on their final day together as she says, "Is this really how it all ends? We've reached the end, forever. "
An even rhythm joins a churning guitar to summon “Voyage” into being, with darkness surging beneath the gruff strings and the French vocals capturing the original song’s sensation as the big drums accelerate. The guitar spins with a shadowy evocation as the female vocals join Balazs Specker while the chiming background casts azure light.
A bouncy note pattern twirls as Balazs Specker transmits the lyrics with clarity while the underpinnings chop sharply. The warmer tones of Zsuzsi Szabó complement Balazs Specker’s voice well, transporting that classic chorus while the guitar is joined by a synth that bounces.
The solo line from the guitar is adventurous and exciting while the relentless pulse below presses on. Actively tumbling percussive sounds are teamed with crystalline feelings before the song concludes.
The narrator imagines an endless journey across mountains, oceans, rivers, deserts and distant cultures, moving freely above the divisions created by nations, conflict and ideology. The repeated call to travel “in the unimaginable realm of love” suggests a desire to escape violence and prejudice and reach a place of universal connection, peace and human unity.
