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Virtua is a 2024 EP by independant artist trndytrndy. I wish that I could say "this sounds like nothing I have ever heard," because sometimes it seems like albums are treated as more impactful if they are wholly original, but that isn't the case with this album. It sounds exactly like the intro to the show Eyewitness, and it must be intentional. It's that kind of vibe we're shooting for here.

This EP is a great example of the Utopian Scolastic/Utopian Virtual genre. Check the RateYourMusic page if you're interested in learning more about it. It sounds like logging on to America Online for the very first time. It sounds like opening a dusty encyclopedia in the back of your elementary school library. It makes me feel like my teacher just carted in the Iconic TV-On-A-Cart and popped in a mangled VHS tape.

The high-quality-lo-fi synths really add to the feeling of hope that late 90's educational tapes always seemed to aspire to. That MIDI-esque kalimba heard throughout the first few tracks really ground it in that aesthetic; that specific sound seemed to be everywhere in those types of educational/corporate music. But honestly, what really appeals to me is it almost feels naiive, like a snapshot from a world moments away from radical change. That brief pocket of time where computers and the internet were incredible exciting and new, and the World Wide Web was a place you had to intentionally seek out, rather than following you wherever you went.

That being said, that is basically all there is to this work. Being fully instrumental doesn't mean it is worth less than a non-instrumental album; I mean, look at Godspeed You! Black Emperor for proof of that. They've built an entire career on moody evocative instrumental rock, and found great success with that. Believe me, I have nothing against fully instrumental music; but this album, other than perfectly recreating a point in history like a time capsule, doesn't have much to say.

Ultimately, I definitely enjoyed this EP. It wasn't anything groundbreaking necessarily, or even a work I'll keep returning to, but it was enjoyable. It brought up nostalgic memories that I had forgotten I even had, of sitting in Art class in elementary school watching a VHS tape of early 1980s CG experiments. It sounds hopeful in a distinctly late-90's kind of way, and given everything going on in the world right now, maybe we need that kind of hope.