Chad VanGaalen

Light Information // Flemish Eye

Chad VanGaalen's sixth official release has the Calgary artist pondering aging and mortality. The opening song sets the theme from the first line "I know our days our numbered" and it carries throughout the twelve songs, delivered within VanGaalen's trademark sci-fi musings. The opener "Mind Hijacker's Curse" is a look at dementia shutting down the mind while on “Old Heads“ he ponders his own inner workings on the chorus "who is the operator keeping all my cells together.” Most songs keep to the theme but none hit harder than "Broken Bell.” He offers a blunt challenge to himself to visit his aging father before he dies and then continues by stating "we are growing old, our cells just won't divide like they're told.” The album consists of touching lyrics made effective by VanGaalen's warbly voice which offers true emotion to his introspective look at aging. Making the album really shine is the fact that the content is delivered through some of VanGaalen's most exciting arrangements since Soft Airplane. On Light Information he jumps back into the indie rock/pop territory that suits him best and uses it as the conduit for his beautifully written look at mortality.