My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It
★★★☆☆
Preface
My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It by Victoryland feels like a series of personal snapshots. It takes you from very close, vulnerable moments to wide, almost empty spaces that feel a bit haunting. Each song shows another part of the same feelings: self-doubt, longing, and the rough truth of being human.
The album does not try to guide you gently. It is rough, a bit messy, and not polished at all – but that is exactly why it feels honest and real. It has a strong DIY feeling, like someone recorded it in their bedroom to keep that special intimate sound, the kind you cannot get in a big studio. Still, this same openness is what connects all the tracks.
Sometimes the album can feel quite intense, especially on a song like I Got God, which has this fast, almost nervous energy. People who like shoegaze will probably enjoy the thick layers of sound there. Then Keep Me Around brings a quieter, calmer moment that gives you a short break. There is this constant push and pull between busy and still moments, and you hear it in both the music and the way it was produced. For me, Blur stands out the most; it really captures that raw emotion that makes the whole album work so well.
Review
Here I Stand starts intimately. the sounds come from a bedroom. as indie as it gets. as the vocals come in you can easily notice a sort of broken-ness.
No Cameras resembling the album title, is the single. it sounds more predictable and familiar. the vocal shakes and the awkward breathings give it even a more “bedroom” sound. it’s relatively word-y.
I Got God has a great rhythm. with arpeggiating 8bit sounds flowing through every line and angry metal-can snares. the calmer outro gives the piece some breathing room, contrary to the anxious, overwhelmed (or it feels to me that way since i’m not huge on shoegaze?).
Keep Me Around marks the second chapter of the album. there’s “less going on”, feels like a sunset. The vocals remind me a lot of Swans, it’s gravely and ritualistic.
Arcades starts so disintegrated, the slow sliding notes (ironically?) remind me of Arcade Fire, especially the more electronic tracks on Everything Now (2017) [LISTEN]. The ending is very vulnerable and beautiful.
Blur is the saddest (hence my favorite!) one so far. short and sweet.
You Were Solved sound like it’s come out of a highschool, a summer romance. more articulate production quality than the rest. more dynamic, generally a more thought-out track in the record.
Beach Death is very minimal and atmospheric. again the flute-like glissando remind me of Everything Now.
Fits didn’t feel like anything, forgettable.
I’ll Show You Mine has a similar melody to the longer tracks, it’s like a summary of the whole album, sonically.
In the end, this is not an album that asks for your attention; it just takes it. It is not perfect, and it does not pretend to be. It carries its imperfections openly, like a personal secret you want to tell someone because you know they will understand it too.