Justin Sconza - “Upside Down World”

Chicago’s Justin Sconza joins us on the blog with “Upside Down World,” a folksy dream-pop vintage wonderland. This track comes from Sconza’s new LP, Parlor.

What’s most impressive is that Sconza records all of his music at home using his 8-track, a device that many tend to overlook now that DAWs are so readily available. But what’s important to observe here is how authentic the production sounds, with all the warmth of the recordings from yesteryear.

Sconza makes haste with “Upside Down World,” allowing all the instruments to come in at the song’s beginning, just after a quick and vibey intro. Tremolo-infused guitar strums along as Sconza delivers his vocals, which are wonderfully and subtly harmonized in their entirety, offering a thickness to the track that we wish more artists would utilize.

This is the type of song that embodies all of the wonder of the late ‘60s, while still maintaining a modern relevance. It is very well put together, tightly performed, and mixed and mastered to perfection. With every listen, we’ve managed to notice something different; from what appears to be seagull foley to the atmospheric slide guitar, this song has it all.

The composition is quite simple, with two verses and two choruses, but the refrain reaches right into you and makes you reflect upon the current state of the world– the way that everything seems upside down, yet the Earth never ceases to spin. After spending some time with “Upside Down World,” we encourage you to listen to the rest of Parlor:

-TM