It is consensus that songs in the making should have multiple versions with multiple sounds that the artists can dig into at any time to produce different mixes, or to add or remove or edit things, and also as a safety net if a song gets stolen or somehow lost. Trevor Keith, the brains behind Words and Sound, shares with us a story of how his cat was responsible for him losing all files for this single, and that having coincidentally saved a version before that incident is his only proof that this song ever existed. We’re all lucky we can still have this version, whatever its state of completion is.
Winston-Salem-based artist Trevor Keith is the only member of this act. Words and Sound is a mainly electronica act whose latest single ‘Yellow’ is quite gentle, yet emotionally stirring, and when you learn that the piece was written to celebrate Keith’s late grandma’s life and spirit, it becomes a little more thunderous than stirring. The soft, puffy, and melancholic chords carry enough sadness in them to be poignant without much singing on top, and maybe that is why Keith opted to go with a small bit of spoken prose instead of going densely lyrical.
With sparse patches where a distant beat becomes audible, this rather minimalist piece is restrained and very collected, and Keith’s choices of synth pads, metallic and sparkling, convey a sense of emptiness that is quite effective. A beautiful effort and a true meant-to-be unicorn. In a sense I’m glad Keith’s cat deleted the project from his computer, because that way we have something truly unique and unchangeable. ‘Yellow’ is carved upon a face of stone. A beautiful memoir.