The Beautification Of Noise, As Seen On Fogchild's "Future Republican President"

It is safe to say that the tracks in this indie record do not have the usual structure of your ordinary song. Being an experimental EP at its finest while having the hidden (not quite) agenda of exploring the world beyond most things through the transgender perspective, “Future Republican President” requires listeners’ undivided attention if they want to make the best out of it.

Fogchild, a project under the wing of New York-based artist Jae Magdalene Grumulaitis, focuses more on how a track sounds rather than what a track says. Perhaps you’d be more curious upon knowing that she is mostly influenced by alternative/indie artists such as More Eaze, Vyva Melinkolya, and more.

The EP opens with “water to wine”, the type to put you at ease, make your shoulders drop and your teeth unclench. It’s a perfect representation of a hollow space and the constant production of echoes within, which is prominent for eight minutes tops. From the title alone, the religious, spiritual touch is present right away, prompting more avenues for theorizing where the track is coming from. It doesn’t appear as an “annoyingly long song”, as it seemingly aims to serve the thinkers, those who want to slow down and enter a different point of view.

Having listened to only a single song so far and seeing that the next one is ten minutes long, you’d either lean forward in curiosity or have your jaw on the floor. “endless entropy” is exactly what it is – the first few minutes offer a noise, followed by a steady type of static that might ring in your head after this track. It is indeed quite unpredictable.

“blood of the lamb” is a short-lived track that opens with a melody that resembles an eerie yet playful aura. It is then engulfed with static once more as it progresses. The purpose of these songs may be confusing to first time listeners at first, but may be crystal clear to Fogchild herself. You would be sorely mistaken if you expect normal song structures in this EP – because it’s clearly more than that.

Appearing as a sermon of some sort, the contents within “white as snow” revolves around the importance of marriage, and what seems to be an excerpt from the bible as that topic surrounds known individuals from the aforementioned book. Static and noise, just like the previous track, engulfs the dialogue once more, making the message incoherent. But, it does entail that this record has a consistent style to it.

What seems like a mixture of an engine-like and naturally inclined noises, “as the deer” is paired with a steady beat besides the ambience around it. The absence of lyrics should be expected by now, leaving audiences to rely solely on the noises they hear. It does adhere to the title, along with all of the tracks, as they provide a picture of what each arrangement is trying to convey.

“the constituent hum of a thing that fades” consists of an ambience that resembles niche noises, like marbles, or the melodic tapping of pots and pans. After a little over a minute and a half, a synthesized voice comes to be, blending in with everything else.

To sum up this EP, it offers a wide variety of ambience, fit for meditation or something to put on while doing mundane tasks. However, its purpose doesn’t end there, as like what was mentioned, the flow and concept of this entire record is correlated to the experience of someone who doesn’t conform to gender norms, opening up avenues for a more in-depth analysis or something that other trans people can relate to.

Sound-wise, this is something audiences are left or free to interpret themselves, and make use of these arrangements as they see fit. It’s undeniably a beautiful array of noise, which definitely makes this record an easy recommendation for thinkers and those who enjoy analyzing music further.