This post is a translation of the 7th part in a series of music reviews by my best friend Vũ Lâm Đại (Ki) and his friend Syka Lê Vy (Ka) on their Facebook accounts.
Original review in Vietnamese, English translation by Mai.
_______________________________________________________________
Dam Mantle – Not A Word [WE EP (2011)]: Actually I didn’t pay much attention to Dam Mantle and his debut album First Wave until I watched Not A Word on pitchfork. The multi-layered dubstep, a rather complicated beat, covered by an emotionless vocal sample and depressing chime, accompanied by a simple black-and-white clip, impresses me so much that I’ve listened to Not A Word for two months straight. The same technical, stiff production that was not well applied in First Wave creates a purposefully simplification and melancholy in Not A Word and WE EP as a whole. An appropriate track to put on the headphones under the I-don’t-need-anybody circumstance, to make us relax and forget.
Gonjasufi – Holidays [A Sufi & A Killer (2010)]: We can compare Gonjasufi’s music to a bitter alcohol that makes us cringe at the first touch of the lips but mesmerizes us after a shot glass. Gonjasufi is not quite a great vocal, his album is not spared of notes where he mistakingly strays from the tone, not to mention the lo-fi production too rough for most listeners. In an interview, Gonjasufi said he stops practicing yoga (beside music, he trains as a yoga coach) during the recording of an album to dump his negative feelings into music instead of releasing them through yoga. The lyrics “Those holidays, lonely holidays/ Holidays, lonesome holidays/ This life I live is like the lonely ways/ The only way through these lonely days/ Is to pick up those times I’ve thrown away/ When will this feeling go away?” float like a green smoke on days of silence, melancholy and escapism.
Beach House – Norway [Teen Dream (2010)]: Should we classify Victoria Legrand’s voice as contralto, as I used to mistake her for a male vocal when I listened to their previous album Devotion? Even as a male vocal, it’s a special one: naturally expressive, classy but plain. The dream pop in the band’s style is a perfect tool to showcase her refinement. Norway is still my favorite even after a hundred replays, the rhythm is too dreamy, the lyrics too metaphorical, like a beautiful but forgotten dream. Perhaps not too related, but hearing “The beast, he comes to you/ He’s a hunter for a lonely heart/ In the season of the sun/ Do you know it’s true, Norway?”, I’m reminded of the massacre at Utøya last month…
Radiohead – Little by little (Shed Remix) [TKOL RMX 4 (2011)]: proof that a remix can totally shine when not standing next to the original. Taking the excellent original in The King of Limbs of Radiohead earlier this year, Shed has cooked it into a catchy electro piece. The guitar hook is reasonably used, the beat is just enough, the bass is tossed to give you a heart attack, the sparing detail execution doesn’t bore the audience with repetition.
Chinawoman – Left You At The Farm [Party Girl (2007)]: Chinawoman, a Russian Canadian singer/songwriter is Ki’s big discovery this month. The impressive contralto, similar to but less unique than Victoria Legrand’s of Beach House, took me by surprised when I found out, after listening to most of the album, that Chinawoman is not a band with a male vocal but in fact a lady. Left You At The Farm doesn’t really stand out in this heavy melancholic collection, which is ful of sadness and shattering but grows on me after each replay. The majority of the song is sung like a whisper, no climax, no change, yet still colorful. Hearing her lines “Never could understand leaving your love behind/ Guess that means I’ve changed my mind/ Suddenly goodbye means more than just goodbye/ I won’t be there when you die”, I feel as if no carelessness carries itself without a pain.
Ghostpoet – Us Against Whatever Ever [Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam (2011)]: a track from the hip hop album nominated for the British Mercury this year. Thanks to this shortlist, I got to know Ghostpoet and impressed by his strange style. The whole album carries the lost atmosphere of a small industrial city like Coventry and the alienation felt by its inhabitant. Instead of straying into the rapid word fire and the vulgarity of sex and crimes like the American hipster hip hop, Ghostpoet harmonizes the rap, reasonably hooks with excellent synth, take Us Against Whatever Ever for example, it breathes enough urban for the whole album, it’s catchy and easy to bob your head to, but it’s not empty. It’s full of personality.
M83 – Midnight City [Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (2011)]: the opening track for the soon-to-be-released album by M83 in October, also one of my most eagerly awaited albums. Upon listening to Midnight City, the fans of M83 can feel completely at ease expecting a quality but M83-esque album. New? Not at all. But a solid strike in the group’s style. Midnight City is a dance step of the youngsters on the streets on the weekends, there’s something dreamy, open and free. The synth blankets the song, the saxophone ends it like a reminder of the new wave hits in the 80s by Starship, The Motels or Kim Wilde, a recently popular trend in indie, though not new to M83.
Crystal Castles – Tell Me What To Swallow [Crystal Castles (2008)]: the Canadian electro duo with the famous Crystal Castles II last year may not be too foreign to a few of us. The group’s debut has long been downloaded but not until I watched J’ai tué ma mère (sidenote: this movie is worth watching!), a scene of which uses Tell Me What To Swallow impressively, did I pay more attention to this album (and become addicted). Tell Me What To Swallow is different from anything else Crystal Castles has made. Emptied of the scorching beat, the track is kept in tune with simple guitar flicks and covered in the desolate voice of Alice Glass, everything resembles the calm before the storm more than its peaceful aftermath. The elusive lyrics cause one to think of a forbidden love between father and daughter, but no one can give a definite interpretation except the songwriter. A perfect track to conclude the album and Ki’s Picks this month.
These New Puritans – We Want War [Hidden (2010)]: one of those bands born in 2007, buried in the indie mess, These New Puritans had to forsake the old style in the first album to metamorphose in the second album Hidden. We want war is the first single of this album in 2010, marking a surprise comeback of the band. Seven minutes make something of a symphony, the kind you hear in a historical movie where armed soldiers relentlessly run forth, knowing only “Charge”. The powerful drum, the emotional vocal combined with interesting sounds, such as hand clapping and sword drawing, scare the audience as if they’re forced into a war with forseen outcome.
Nedry – Where The Dead Birds Go [Condors (2010)]: Nedry consists of Chris and Matt on the guitars, synthesizers and laptops, and Ayu Okakita as the vocal. Formed in 2008 but due to different reasons, the band only released their first album Condors in 2010. Ranked better than expected by the band with a “love for Jurassic Park” (inspiration for the name Nedry, the technician in that movie), Condors is the loving transformation of trip hop. Although Ayu’s voice reminds Ka of the Blonde Redhead, another band with a charming Japanese vocal, Nedry seems to focus more on the rhythm. Somewhat regrettably, Where the Dead Birds Go does not fully reflect Ayu’s voice like the other songs in the album as her gentle sound is the background for the electrics, but the song doesn’t lose its goodness. Used at the end, the song is an impressive mix of sounds resembling the stressed birds scurrying for somewhere to land.
Fever Ray – Keep The Streets Empty For Me [Fever Ray (2009)]: Ki said that Ka seems to favor Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson in The Knife a little too much, as mixtape after mixtape includes her work: The knife – Marble house in June and Röyksopp – What else is there in July. Fever Ray is her solo album released in 2009, impressing the whole world, topping many charts on indie websites. Ah yes, also top Ka’s Top Albums of 2009. Keep the streets empty for me was written when Karin imagined herself as a deer, the rhythm fascinates like a forest at dawn covered in fog. No need to discuss how good this song or this album is, nobody can deny her talent. Ka is truly waiting for The Knife’s upcoming release in 2012, “the apocalypse” in Pam’s word [Mai: who is Pam?!].
St Vincent – Surgeon [Strange Mercy (2011)]: Annie Erin Clark, often known as “St Vincent” with excellent albums like Marry Me (2007) and Actors (2009), is returning with Strange Mercy this Septempber. Usually, a pre-release track must muscle the whole album’s weight and perhaps even the band’s future, not an easy task, but Surgeon still keeps the plain, traditional style of Annie to promise a(nother) charming release. The song creates a sense of unsettling insecurity with long sighs and steamy guitar sessions [Mai: is Annie in a sauna?], as if we’re slowly sinking into the sea. The ending sees the voice meshing into the guitar, soaring forever up high, then a sudden stop like the last twitch: death has come, goodbye!
Dum Dum Girls – Coming Down [Only In Dreams (2011)]: The band, which got its name from a song by Iggy Pop, “Dum Dum Boys“, does know how to execute ballads in the most clever way. Over 6 and a half minutes long, yet the song doesn’t bore its listeners. The band’s leader Dee Dee is correct when calling this song a “slowburner” [Ka: killing a man slowly?] The lyrics sound like a girl’s narration at the end of a relationship: “by tomorrow, I’ll be gone”, a no-joking warning to the everybody-knows-who-it-is someone with one foot out the door as Dee Dee sings “If you want to tell me something/ You had better make it strong”. Throughout the song repeats the chorus “I’m coming down” like a moaning of the girl to wake herself up. Dee Dee said “I won’t lie; it’s heart on sleeve. Have you ever numbed yourself to avoid pain only to oscillate between the subconscious and conscious? Ever felt compelled to address Life itself? Things can be so awful but at least they can also be bliss. Hope you listen to the song and feel something.”
Girls – Vomit [Father, Son, Holy Ghost (2011)]: My initial pick was Broken Dreams Club in the same name album by Girls last year, but after listening to this wonderful new set, I change to Vomit. It’s rare to see a band that can keep its style and attract its audience album after album like Girls: starting with Album (2009) like a “gentle bomb”, followed by Broken Dreams Club (2010), and most recently, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Most of the songs are written by member Christopher Owens based on his own life. Truthfully Ka doesn’t understand how the title Vomit relates to the song when its lyrics have nothing to do with vomit. With background music, psych-rock guitar solos, warm organ synchronized with the ebb-and-flow voice, the song is indeed a mind blowing tale of hopelessly searching for love.
Bonnie Prince Billy – I See A Darkness [I See A Darkness (1999)]: I See A Darkness is the sixth album by Will Oldham, often known by his stage name Bonnie Prince Billy, also remarked as one of his most biggest success. The same-title song is Ka’s favorite, simplified with a sparing and quiet background music to make the listener focus all ear into Will’s soulful voice. Like its name, this sad song will give you goosebumps. Someone remarked that through the song they can see a man contemplating suicide: although he loves life: “you know I have a love, a love for everyone I know, and you know I have a drive, to live I won’t let go,” when night comes, he can’t resist, he only hopes to have a friend who can save him from that darkness: “There’s a hope that somehow you can save me from this darkness”. The way Will sings “Did you know how much I love you” pinches our heart, everyone clearly needs a friend, so that in those times of weakness in the evermoving life, we have a place to stop by.
Goldfrapp – Lovely Head [Felt Mountain (2000)]: The duo Goldfrapp from England always seek new things in their music. Although the later albums succeed in electronic/dance style, Ka still considers Felt Moutain the most remarkable phenomenon. Thanks to Ki’s recommendation, Ka used to listen to this album alone from morning till night. The depressing ambience covers this entire debut. The song Lovely Head is the hopelessness of an unrequited love: the girl loves with all she has but the guy keeps a cold front. The creative bleeding rhythm proves the duo’s talent well above the “just electronica” standard. You might cringe upon the last line: “Frankenstein would want your mind, your lovely head” [Mai: mmm, fish brains are pretty tasty].
_______________________________________________________________
The Vietnamese Original is posted on Sunday Spirit. Why translate and repost? Because it’s beautiful.
