‘TRAUMA BOND’ is exactly that sort of intimate, evocative record we’d expect from a project aptly called <3peace. If you are wondering, it’s pronounced as ‘heart peace’. Steeped in personal experience and heartfelt vulnerability, the record echoes heightened introspection and a painful past, seeking to highlight how negative circumstances can often become the catalyst for something greater. In the case of <3peace, a complicated childhood served as a spiritual push to get closer to religion.
From a sonic standpoint, ‘TRAUMA BOND’ appears to be mirroring its lyrical melancholy. Exuding a certain minimalism, the track features a gently plucked guitar wrapped in spacious reverbs, the perfect companion for <3peace’s nuanced vocals and their radical authenticity. Luscious and soulful, the talented artist’s controlled tone is here delivered with a keen reverence, the kind of solemn restraint one might feel when remembering a painful event. That said, we don’t feel that we could call ‘TRAUMA BOND’ an acoustic piece; everything is wrapped into a dreamy, otherworldly sheen, something that makes it closer to hyper-pop, if anything.
Delving deeper into the inspiration behind the song, we are told: “At 7, <3peace narrowly escaped a shooting and sadly also witnessed domestic violence as a child as well. The song is about how he bonded with that trauma and used it as fuel to create positivity and see GOD in all relationships, good and bad. In the end, he reflects on the things he’s experienced as he has now used that trauma to literally save many people’s lives”.
Recommended! Discover ‘TRAUMA BOND’ now: