The following article was submitted via Facebook by Tara Mulvaney:

There are a lot of great moments in Future Relative’s Fantasies EP. My possible favorite is the second verse in the closing track, Monday Morning. It’s so raw and poignant, and it breaks my heart every time I hear it.

“I took the truth and tried to spin it
A thousand lies in a New York minute
It looks like I’m only growing older
Without a Goddamn thing to show for it”

Quarter Life is absolutely terrifying. You can pursue your passion and risk poverty.  You can compromise your values and become millionaires. It’s a choice we all have to make to some degree. What’s more important to you? The answer isn’t always easy. You find yourself being interrogated by your family about your future, and you twist the facts to appease them, feeling like a fraud. You see some of your friends shoot up the class ladder and you can’t help but second-guess everything you’ve done thus far, like it wasn’t enough.

Monday Morning was submitted for placement on Gallatone Volume 7, a compilation album made by the NYU label, Gallatone Records. After I first heard this song, I played it again. And again. I felt at ease with my fears in knowing that I wasn’t completely alone in those fears. The hook resonates with an anthemic and almost therapeutic melody and progression: “I don’t mind it sometimes. It’s good to be alone.”

Like so many creative, inspired people, Future Relative is marching to [the beat of their own drum], and there’s no way of telling if the time is right or how it will resolve. But that’s OK. This serenity in solitude, this pride in lone ranging, makes Monday Morning connect the artist to listeners and uplifts us, unites us. You really don’t feel alone when you hear it, you just feel good. There was no question that the song should be showcased on the compilation, and I was honored to give the song its first release.

Powerful as the track is, it’s tame in comparison to the live performance of the song. I say that lovingly; it’s a testament to the act when their live show surpasses a well-produced audio recording, especially when that show was only their first.

Typically a front row fiend, I hung around toward the back and observed the electricity between performer and crowd. Not knowing what to expect, I found myself awestruck at their musicianship, showmanship, and their vision.

Any skeptic who has sat through other electropop acts that emphasize the visual while playing music from a hard drive would find Future Relative refreshing. Why? Because Armand Aviram, Future Relative’s front man, can really sing! He’s a powerful, mid-high range rock singer that can raise the hairs on the back of your neck with his voice. His accomplished fellow band mates: Lex Sadler (bass/synth) and Nic Coolidge (guitar/programming) – can really play!

Lighting designer, Jason Miller, developed and operated a light wall behind the stage reminiscent of the Nine Inch Nails design. They also came equipped with some flashy, eye-catching props: a strobe light mic stand and blue neon light drumsticks, to name a couple. But beyond the pretty lights and the pretty boys on stage, the fact of the matter is that the night was for music and celebration.

I was moved by the audience’s energy; they danced, they clapped, they sang along. This was an event they had clearly been waiting for, and it was more than worth the wait. It exceeded their expectations. I saw the audience erupt in cheers after my favorite line from Monday Morning. The audience, the act, and I were connected in that moment: I know that feeling! That’s what pop music should do for people.

The band saved their single X-Ray Vision for the last song in their set. Armand leaped from the stage and into crowd, reinforcing the sense of oneness between the performer and crowd that was felt throughout their 45 minute set. By the time Armand said his goodbyes, the crowd was chanting for an encore.

With financing from a label, there is so much potential to develop their show into a large-scale, spectacular musical event that needs to be experienced. I hope to see that happen for them in due time. I’m looking forward to seeing the future of Future Relative, especially after being so pleased with them at their beginning.

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