“Velocity in Celestial Mechanics” by Precarian has to be one of the most explanatory song titles of 2021. Explanatory not in the sense that the song is about velocity and physics, but explanatory in the sense that the song takes you on a ride that resembles getting jarred by a rocket ship and then floating aimlessly through space. The track feels like an experiment, and the journey that the track takes you on is both harrowing and at the same time rewarding.
Every part of “Velocity…” is jarring, sporadic, and chaotic. From the vocals to the music, everything feels improvised and free form. The percussion is high energy and jumps around, the bass bumps and pulsates, and there is very little melody, with the exception of some pretty epic guitar solos. The song sounds like an audio representation of how I would imagine an attention deficit disorder. Every 20 seconds there is a completely different feel to the song. It’s like Precarian was playing out one riff and one song structure before tossing it out in a fit of rage and crafting something new. Normally I am not a fan of such inconsistency in single songs. I tend to believe that songs should have a more cohesive feel, and that albums are made for exploring the sonic spectrum in separate contained tracks. That being said, I think “Velocity in Celestial Mechanics” does a great job of making inconsistency and chaos feel par for the course, and that is an achievement in and of itself.
The vocal performance in “Velocity…” falls in the category of spoken word. There is not much singing going on here. The majority of the song has no lyrics at all and is purely instrumentation. The vocals are disenchanted, gritty, and seething with a type of rebellious punk-like energy. Around the minute 1:30 mark, Precarian issues a snarling warning: “I am not your experiment, I am not your possession, I am just trying to reason this stuff out, is that so hard to accept?” The track feels like a protest song, but without more outside context I am not sure what the political message is exactly. If I were to offer my main criticism of the track, it would be in the vocals/lyrics. I don’t love spoken word, and it can be hard to come off as being authentic without the emotion of singing behind you. Singing opens up so much more space to express emotions and communicate with an audience, while spoken word, unless the spoken word is more poetic, just feels canned at times. I love the guitar solos throughout the track, and I also enjoyed the way Precarian used heavily distorted guitars to give the sound of static. The final guitar solo being descending and in a different key was also a nice touch.
“Velocity in Celestial Mechanics” is a unique track that takes the listener on a bumpy ride through sporadic percussion, pulsating bass, and minimal melodic chords. The track feels like a mix of punk with folk undertones, and I love the combination. If you are looking for a chaotic listen to get your energy up, “Velocity in Celestial Mechanics” is the track for you.
