HIGH PRAISE: ISTA – “Crystalize”
Most songs don’t feel like multiple songs combined into one, but life itself certainly does. If any song can replicate what going through the ups and downs of life with little-to-no easy transitions, “Crystalize” by ISTA does.
Listening to music can transport you not only in time, but in feelings and emotions. Whether a song transports you back in time or brings out an emotion or two, songs are more powerful than we tend to credit them for. If you’re listening to a track by ISTA, it may take you back to a 1970s-esq era byway of a double rainbow.
New York City’s ISTA is a seven-piece psychedelic rock and roll funky disco soul punk love child with a 1970’s-influenced style, both in fashion and musical composition. Taking you back to the days of sequins, rainbow glitter, and bell bottoms with a 2021 mindset. The NYC septuplet provides a soundtrack for getting the party started and taking you on a journey one wouldn’t expect to happen in just one song.
Released on February 12th, ISTA’s latest single “Crystalize” is a journey within itself, including the writing process. The main verses and choruses date back to 2018 and other sections were formed out of full band jam session in prep for a SXSW run with a previous incarnation of the group under a different name in 2019. And then you have the heavy riff breakdown part, written in the studio that summer along with some help from the group’s producer, Sam Cohen. As ISTA was growing, parting ways, and expanding as time went on, sections of “Crystalize” found a way to highlight those moments in time for the group.
According to ISTA, the lyrics cultivate a “cosmic love song to life” with notes of longing, clarity and praise. As the song progresses drastically in its 4:03 duration, it characterizes a person going through a roller coaster (or a rainbow ride) of emotions as we long to find a place in this world and the love and admiration of loved ones and our peers. It’s a battle of instant gratification and long term self-appreciation; something all of us can relate to. Most songs don’t feel like multiple songs combined into one, but life itself certainly does. If any song can replicate what going through the ups and downs of life with little-to-no easy transitions, “Crystalize” by ISTA does.