Optacure Strays from Optimism, But Never from Hope and Beauty
Confusion. Sadness. Uncertainty. These are all present in Optacure’s “Stray”. Yet, so are hope, beauty, and thoughtfulness. There’s a juxtaposition of feelings throughout this latest single from Australian duo Edmund Gemelo Jr. and Emmanuel Aguila. Somehow in just over 3 minutes, they are able to present such an array of emotions in a few simple lyrics and a beautiful song with tons of pop sensibilities. There is so more truth in the the sense of unknowing and doubt presented here that it’s truly profound.
Perhaps it’s just the upbeat music that keeps the hope alive and mellows the despair in the lyrics, but it feel like something more. Optacure, the band’s name represents the idea of Optical Cure – “a philosophy of searching for a universal perspective through music”. So the sense of searching or continuing to push on isn’t a mistake… it’s a clear directive… a mission statement for the band. Gemelo, who not only uses Optacure as the band name but as his individual moniker as well, clearly presents a sense of seeking what’s out there, what’s bigger. And, for him, searching through his music is the methodology.
With “Stray”, we find a song that continually notes that the song’s speaker “doesn’t know”… he says “I don’t know”, “I don’t know what to think”, “I don’t know what to live for”, ” I don’t know what that means”, and so on. So, it’s clear he isn’t sure where things in his life stand or where he stands with things in his life. Yet, he makes somewhat claims at times and sings in an upbeat, hopeful manner, suggesting this isn’t so much despair as it is an exploration and a search for what is to come. This is Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning in pop song form.
If nothing I’m saying here makes sense to you, let Optacure explain it better… check out “Stray” below:
This is a really nice take on the song.
Thank you.