Wax Poetic: March 2021
Posted: by The Editor
Wax Poetic is Eric Bennett’s bimonthly column where they suggest pairings of various scented candles with a great album or EP.
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Pairing 1: Scentsational No. 06 – Storm / Pom Pom Squad – Ow
I, like most reasonable people, love soy candles. Besides the obvious benefit of them being biodegradable, they last longer than standard paraffin. For me, the only flaw with them comes in the more subtle throw. Perhaps it’s just the slow burn, but I find it takes ages for some soy candles to fill a room with the scent you chose. However, No. 6 Storm from Scentsational Soaps and Candles does a good job of making its presence known, and while there are many facets to its scent, it remains subtle. Storm’s label proclaims it contains tangerine, blackberry, and sugar cane. None of these components sing louder than the others, and the result is a more subdued earthy scent. I’ve decided to pair Storm with Ow, the 2019 EP from Pom Pom Squad. I love this EP to pieces and am thrilled to include it here. While you might think of pairing it with floral scents that feel more in line with song titles “Honeysuckle” or “Cherry Blossom,” I think the array of fruit found in Storm is more fitting. Their music is powerful but never overdoes it. They are complex but never oppressive, much the same as the scent given off by Storm. Play tracks like “Again” and “Cherry Blossom” through your house, and hear them creep across the room like a gorgeous mist. Light No. 6 Storm, and add another dimension to that calm.
You can find Scentsational Soaps & Candles No. 6 Storm in stores at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, or try buying this, which while being on the company site, looks nothing like the beautiful blue jar I got.
https://scentsational-products.com/shop/14oz-classic-storm-candle/
Pairing 2: DW Home Maple Hazelnut / Torres – Three Futures
Some full disclosure on my part here. In my daily life, there is no brand I love more than DW Home, and no candle I buy as often as their Maple Hazelnut. I’m including it here, but please keep in mind it sells out often. It’s my ideal fall candle because its scent is pervasive, inviting, warm, and sweet. I think pumpkin has clearly dominated culture as the king of fall flavors and scents, but maple remains the rightful heir to that position. It might seem odd at first to pair this candle with an album that can come across as chilly as Torres’s excellent 2017 release “Three Futures”, but just hear me out. That cool, icy sleekness that Tree Futures carries about it is the same feeling as the creepy chill of fall. That, combined with the evocative, comforting tones of Mackenzie Scott’s voice, gives the listener the sensation of being home, curled up in a blanket on the first snowy day of fall. You have to make your own warmth sometimes, and that’s often why we turn to candles. There are memories tied into scents, and a nutty, sweet candle can transport you to that kind of comfort. In songs like “Skim”, Scott sings lovingly, despite the looking back nature of the lyrics’ context. Use whatever makes you feel that cozy nostalgia, but I recommend this pairing for it.
You can find Maple Hazelnut here, assuming it hasn’t sold out when you read this.
https://www.dwhome.com/products/maple-hazelnut
Pairing 3: LAB x Hygee – Pleasure / Jay Som – Anak Ko
For a pairing of any two things, you never want one to overpower the other. The two pieces should complement each other and exist in harmonious balance. However, if the things you’re pairing are music and a scented candle, it’s probably fine if the music overpowers the aroma you’ve chosen just a bit. Jay Som’s excellent 2019 record Anak Ko is dynamic, often full of heavy reverb-laden guitars, and Melina Duterte’s voice often sounds like a spectral whisper. It sounds powerful, full of radiance and warmth. I’ve decided to pair that warming tone with a candle full of decadent sweet and spicy scents. ‘Pleasure’ is one of LAB x Hygee’s many mood candles, and features a steaming coffee mug on its jar. I mistakenly bought this thinking it would be coffee scented. Instead, it’s a lovely mix of fig, ginger, and allspice. It’s an incredibly subtle candle and will act far more as an accent to your music and scent pairing, but I think it still adds plenty of atmosphere, particularly in hazy tracks like “Superbike.”
I’m not even going to link to this candle because it’s sold out, but honestly, any fig or spice-based candle will do; this is just the one I had.
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Eric Bennett | @seething_coast
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