This post is a translation of the 9th 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 by Ki, English translation by Mai, cover and banners by Ka
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After the rather mellow first half from Ki, those who prefer some happy swaying with be satisfied with the remaining 10 tracks from Ka.
Click to listen to the entire playlist on YouTube (except Port St. Willow’s Hollow, I haven’t found that one on Youtube yet, but you can listen to it here on their bandcamp site)
David Sylvian + Shree Maa – Praise (Pratah Smarami) [Dead Bees On A Cake (1999)]: Sylvian is one of my all time favorite male vocals. However in this month’s playlist, instead of his vocal, let’s listen to Praise, which Sylvian considered the climax of his album Dead Bees On A Cake. Praise was based on a Sanskrit mantra that Shree Maa, an Indian monk, used to chant in the morning when she was living with Sylvian’s family in California. On Sylvian’s silvery orchestration, the beauty of Shree Maa’s voice flows out naturally like a breath, a beauty not polished from hours of vocal practice but raised from the purest piety.
Mount Eerie – Yawning Sky [Clear Moon (2012)]: Clear Moon is a good album but far from easy to digest, partly because of its foggy, multimensional concept and sound. The best way to feel its atmosphere is to inhale all 11 tracks at once. Fortunately, Yawning Sky can stand alone without losing it to be introduced to you. The percussion slow and forlorn, the guitar echos from somewhere distant, the vocal whispers as if covered in fog; can you not think of a yawning sky on the coldest January day.
Tom Zé – A Felicidade [Estudando O Samba (1975)]: not too well known, and not possessing a silky voice like the two tropicalía monumental figures from Brazil Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé’s melodies fell into forgotten lands in nearly two decades and only revived in the 90s thanks to the producer David Byrne’s discovery. Although I’ve only heard of him recently, Tom Zé’s music impresses me with more perspectives, vigor and spontaneity than the other two’s. A Felicidade was a remix of the legendary Tom Jobim’s original. His felicidade (happiness) seems totally different from the original and the other covers, genteel like the sun’s sweet dawn, „tristeza não tem fim, felicidade sim“ – sadness has no end, happiness does.
Ryuichi Sakamoto + Alva Noto – By This River [Summvs (2003)]: ever since I knew how to listen to “quality” music, there’s no artist that I’ve listened to so much as Ryuichi Sakamoto, and personally, may I consider him „The King of Chords“. Though providing no breakthrough, the sensitivity in orchestration makes Sakamoto’s music always charming, whether they are simple melodies, twisted strings of accord or spiky perspectives that he experiments with electronic music. For instance, take By This River, one of his various collaborations with German musician Alva Noto, the rhythm submerges under layers of noise just like the ladyfingers soaked in Amaretto and espresso in a tiramisu [Mai: mmmm yummy. I imagine a hot tub, dark chocolate, and starry sky seen through a glass roof].
The Antlers – Drift Dive [Undersea EP (2012)]: an EP that The Antlers confirms to approximate „the serenity of drifting off to sleep or sinking to the bottom of the ocean“. The beginning track Drift Dive neither contains a sound that directly imitates water nor does it try to drown the listeners in terribly thick mix. The air rises from the simple drum, guitar, and occasional emphasis with trumpet. Drift Dive doesn’t exactly describe the sinking, but more the floating and the broadening view of the splendid surface as we slowly descend to the ocean bed.
Massive Attack ft. Hope Sandoval – Paradise Circus [Heligoland (2010)]: the nice thing about the vocalists like Hope Sandoval is that even when they sing like a streak of cigarette smoke, every single word carries tremendous emotional weight. The suavity when Hope Sandoval exhales the lyrics easily fools our ears and leads us to forget the song’s core meaning: love swallowed by sexual desire. The music video is among the most R-rated MV that I know, with an interview of Georgina Spelvin, a now-aged pornographic actress, telling the emotions in front of the camera, interspersed by cutscenes from her famous movie (porn, of course) – The Devil in Miss Jones. The song (and the clip) is worth-listening (watching) if you have a healthy mind. Just as Spelvin said near the end of the MV, „we are our own devil“.
Port St. Willow – Hollow [Holiday (2012)]: those who have been familiar with The Antlers from Hospice (2009) would also be familiar with Port St. Willow because of their musical similarities. It’s no surprise that the leaders of these two groups are childhood friends and have collaborated on many occasions. With that said, The Antlers carry a somewhat more mainstream style – the rhythm and structure are defined, the vocal is clean (although both groups favor singing in falsetto). Meanwhile, those things seem to melt together in Port St. Willow. If Drift Dive sinks with us into the sea, Hollow stands with us in a vast vast field, where winds of sound steadily caress our senses.
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine [Extraordinary Machine (2005)]: Let’s set aside the new acclaimed Apple’s album and listen to one of her older tracks today. Extraordinary Machine has everything – excellent rhythm, seemingly joking but perfectly apt dynamics, smart lyrics and a pretty voice. Listeners can perceive different images from what they hear, from an unorthodox fashion show to a carousel in the park, but it’s hard to tell that this song was written by a girl who spends 6 years simply… doing house chores, taking the dog for a walk, watching re-runs of Columbo day after day, fascinated with Peter Falk and inspired by… her own laziness. Guess it’s just another way that sets Apple apart from the popular music these days.
Youth Lagoon – July [The Year of Hibernation (2011)]: one day, when you suddenly understand what they’re singing, a song becomes a very personal part of you. When I write this and realize it, July has gone.
Totally Enormous Extinct Disnosaurs – Household Goods [Trouble (2012)]: to end Ki’s Picks this month is a dense upbeat track by “Khủng Long Tuyệt Chủng Vô Cùng Bự” (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) [Mai: I wonder what he looks like… UPDATE: he looks pretty slender]. Orlando Higginbottom, the man behind this spaghetti-long stage name, used to say that he doesn’t try to invent any breakthroughs. What makes him happy is watching people dancing to his music no matter how meaningless it is. Household Goods has nothing new, muscular beats, hooks everywhere, synthetics weaving like flashing lights on a dance floor. I’ve never been to a dance floor, but this song is still a hardcore energy drink for mental work or simply, a bike ride home.
Twin Shadow – Golden Light [Confess (2012)]: no need to turn on the music yet, just a look at the track list of Confess releases the fragrance of the 80s with names that you easily would have seen on the billboards of those years (Run My Heart, The One, Be Mine Tonight,…). Starting to get bored? Big mistake. Twin Shadow blew into his music a rare kind of energy that many soulless pieces of the 80s never had. The vocal is not sharp but powerful, the arrangement overflowing but not cumbersome, the lyrics direct but doesn’t fall under “cheesy”. Listening to Golden Light, our ladies can picture themselves on motorcycles behind their loyal lovers, riding into the night to wherever they want.
Passion Pit – I’ll Be Alright [Gossamer (2012)]: an attractive example of maximalism (in contrast to minimalism). Drum flying everywhere, layers of electronic noise exploding like fireworks. But don’t mistake that Michael Angelakos is singing about the top of happiness: “Can you remember ever having any fun?/ Cause when it’s all said and done I always believed we were/ But now I’m not so sure”. The “looks so but not really so” theme throughout Gossamer might came from the reality that Michael is fighting against bipolar disorder. The song depicts powerlessness when Michael recognizes himself as a mess and the best he could do is to let go of his love.
Frank Ocean – Bad Religion [channel ORANGE (2012)]: Listening to Put Your Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius (playlist 06.2012), another homosexual artist, you can feel the emotion from his story about fighting against [Mai: or “for”? Ki wasn’t clear here…] himself, about the boundaries that the outside world has built up around his love. Watching Frank Ocean perform Bad Religion on a TV show, what stirred me was not some kind of gender story. He simply stood there, a normal guy, singing sincerely about love: „It’s a bad religion / To be in love with someone / Who could never love you“. Love isn’t wrong, sometimes it’s just an unhealthy religion. He or she? Doesn’t matter. Bad Religion can still be your song.
Crystal Castles – Plague [TBA (2012)] reminds us plenty of Baptism in the group’s second album Crystal Castles II. Although it doesn’t have enough toxicity to bring you down like an epidemic, Plague is more than enough for appetizer, the rain before the hurricane – their upcoming album (Crystal Castles III perhaps?).
The XX – Angels [Coexist (2012)]: many of us would probably scream in ecstasy upon seeing this. The XX is among the few indie bands that experiment and pioneer a music of their own but still sound friendly enough to their audience. What we love in their music is kept whole in Angels: the lonely guitar, Romy’s whispering voice as sweet as honey in tea, the surprising percussion here and there. Something has changed though. If the entire album The XX is music of the night forest, in Angels, we might have caught a glimpse of sunrise.
Daft Punk – Something About Us [Discovery (2001)]: upon mentioning the album Discovery by the French duo Daft Punk, many mainstream music aficionados would remember Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, the famous house number that Kanye West used as a sample in his hit Stronger. However, those who have listened to the entire album must have been most impressed by Something About Us, a rare slow jam piece in a forest of excellent uptempo songs. Borrowing the motifs from 70s-80s funk, Something About Us is like a sexy movie scene with candles, red wine and roses in the bathtub. Relaxing arrangement with keyboard and simple bass, the vocal and the guitar take turns massaging the modest melody. Whether you listen to it on a comfy sofa or in a taxi after a tiring party night, Something About Us sounds perfect.
Electric Light Orchestra – Last Train To London [Discovery (1979)]: another track from another Discovery album. A disco tune from the 70s best suited for a barbecue on the roof on a nice day, a beer in hand [Mai: dude, beer tastes horrible!] and everyone around us being happy.
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Only In My Dreams [Mature Themes (2012)]: to picture it more easily, Ariel Pink’s music is a mix between Frank Zappa and the psychedelic pop old masters like The Byrds, Pink Floyd and newborns like Wild Nothing, Animal Collective. A mix between candy and drugs. The complexity hidden under the casual laziness in Ariel Pink’s music might take some time to get used to. Only In My Dreams sounds at first a shallow song, even the lyrics resemble what a 12-year-old would say to his classroom crush. However, that very simple content synchronized so well with the seemingly something-off-in-the-head melody makes the track pretty up there.
Jessie Ware – Sweet Talk [Devotion (2012)]: another sweet addition in Ka’s Picks, just as the name suggests. In Sweet Talk, we see again the 80s flavors that contemporary artists have returned to harvest. Womanly, sensitive, perceptive, Jessie Ware reminds us of the R&B splendid madame Sade. The vocal is calm but suave in every word, no strength training exercise to show off her capability like many singers these days. She sings simple: „It’s the sweet words that pull me in / I know I’m the weak one and I won’t say no / You give me a reason so I never go“. [Mai: *sigh* girls are so easily manipulated >.< ] Sometimes, the charm in a female vocal lies not in the strength but in its “weakness”: „I’m the weak one“ sounds so soft, yet so dangerous. [Mai: she’s being persuaded by the “sweet talk”, how is she dangerous -.-]
Blur – Under the Westway (2012): The opening and finale of the Olympics this year seems to be a reunion of famous British rock bands: Arctic Monkeys, Paul McCartney, Muse, Beady Eye (post-Oasis), Kaiser Chiefs and even Queen, etc. Many will ask: where’s Blur? Together with other bands in the last decade like Radiohead and Oasis, Blur shaped the characteristic pop-rock of UK today. Under the Westway, a fresh-baked single, certainly reminds people of the Beatles: a marriage between the melancholy of A Day In The Life and the little positivity from Let It Be, the feelings when we gaze up to the skyscrapers in a metropolis, amidst city noise. There’s been rumors lately that Blur will disband for good. If this song is the final period, it’s a pretty ending for a group with so much contribution in our time.
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The Vietnamese Original is posted on Sunday Spirit.
Why translate and repost? Because it’s beautiful.
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