This post is a loose translation of the first 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 Vu Lam Dai, English translation by Mai.
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One beautiful day. Ki and Ka, one with free time and one without, but both like to pile a little extra on their plates, were listening to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way and sighing over music and life, when they had a sparkling idea: why share music only with each other? Why not share it with all of their friends?
Jk. Instead of posting a music link, which would incite not much more than an indifferent smirk, or reviewing a whole album, which would be too much to digest in one sitting, we’re going to make a once-a-month compilation of old and new tracks that everyone can sip over their morning coffee. Support us, please? Every feedback, rotten tomato or egg (music is too hard to listen, too old, cover is too ugly, etc.) is wholeheartedly welcome.
Although we might qualify as music soulmates, our tastes still have a few differences (Ki leans to the electronic, experimental or noisy punk, while Ka falls more often for the simple folk and the rural indie rock), so the collection can turn into a hot pot [Mai: yum!]. But diversity can be a good thing, and even if you can’t connect yourself to all ten and some tracks, we hope that you’ll smile with one or two.
YouTube playlist for KaKi February. Enjoy.
Tim Hecker – The Piano Drop [Ravedeath 1972 (2011))]: Tim Hecker can be seen as a talented sound architect, who sculptures the strange, unconventional “left-field music” that is filled with air, abstraction, multilevel, and modernity, yet possesses a solid structure to distinguish itself from a meaningless mismatch of noise.
Radiohead – Morning Mr Magpie [The King of Limbs (2011)]: It’s not an overstatement that Radiohead cannot make a bad album. Compared to In Rainbows of 4 years ago, The King of Limbs alienates all conventional rules of rock. Every detail carries an innocently experimental yet bewitching sense. How can I explain that feeling of listening to Morning Mr Magpie or Feral with a good headphone? Extremely powerful and dangerous.
Toro Y Moi – New Beat [Underneath the pine (2011)]: a groovy song, filled with ear-catching hooks to make one swing to the tune. Appropriate as a warm-up while waiting for the coming album Underneath the Pine.
Foals – Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie Remix) [2010]: a beautiful remix – a dreamy, loose structure that preserves the original’s restless soul. After the big discovery of last year’s British electronic wave, James Blake, Mount Kimbie might be the second mentionable: the two young men who create a refreshing, organic and charming dubstep.
Bonaparte – My Body Is A Battlefield [My Horse Likes You (2010)]: Bonapart’s music is loud, simple, and reminds us of one thing: music is sometimes just for fun. Listening to Bonapart is like observing a lively party of the Western college students: happy, crazy, with lots of alcohol, and sometimes a corner where the boys roll some weed to pass around…
Deerhunter – Agoraphobia [Microcastle (2008)]: although Deerhunter’s new album Halcyon Digest is more familiar to the listeners, Microcastle is still my favorite. Agoraphobia is a dreamy piece of psych rock, sad but sweet. The regular drum beats, the stout, clear-cut guitar. The unforgettable aftertaste.
Ducktails ft. Panda Bear – Killin The Vibe [Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics (2011)]: this song is full of summer: the melody isn’t complicated, the structure is bright and breezy. Most of the tracks in this album aren’t too long but 2-3 minutes to recollect the earthy Animal Collective of the early days.
Destroyer – Chinatown [Kaputt (2011)]: the lingering music for a tipsy Saturday afternoon: „I can’t walk from Chinatown. I can’t walk away. You can’t walk away,…“. Oh, is that why we wouldn’t be lonely in Chinatown?
Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX – NY Is Killing Me [We’re new here (2011)]: for those who are familiar with the band The XX, Jamie XX isn’t a foreign name. „We’re new here“, which combines the remixes of a few tracks from the album „I’m New Here“ (published by Scott Heron last year) with some new songs, might be the most interesting match this year: one young, one old; one British, one American; and two completely different styles. If the word „new“ to Scott Heron is simply a humorous allusion to his comeback after 16 years, to Jamie, should “new” be understood in its literal sense: a new wind to the American ears? NY Is Killin Me carries Jamie’s hard-pressed fingerprint, its beats are more solidified and powerful than anything he has done with The XX.
Cut Copy – Need You Now [Zonoscope (2011)]: the beginning melody opens an easy dance pop entrance, the architecture cleverly leads the audience to a climax, and a clean ending comes with the symmetrical background vocal on dramatic synth music. The six-minute song is so fit that its audience forget its length.
Arcade Fire – We Used To Wait [The Suburbs (2011)]: after many underappreciated awards, the highest Grammy – Album of the Year – has arrived to its most rightful owners: the Arcade Fire. Needless to say that the Grammy is enough to induce a sizable audience to seek the album out of curiosity. Including one of Arcade Fire’s into this playlist is our way of celebrating: Indie Rock has somehow, though slowly, gained its deserving ground in today’s sounds.
PJ Harvey – The Glorious Land [Let England Shake (2011)]: it would be hard for PJ Harvey to disappoint her fans with this new album, one where the war topic that threads through every single song is expressed not by a heavy sword-and-hammer tune but a beautifully bare melody.
Ladytron – Destroy Everything You Touch [Witching Hour (2005)]: a strong tune with a foggy female vocal over mesmerizing electronic captures.
Young Galaxy – Cover your tracks [Shapelifting (2011)]: a few beats to carry that sweet smell of the tropics, a soft voice that might not make the top track of the year, but all the while worth listening to while waiting for other dream pop albums.
*Artwork by Syka
Reviews by Maki.
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The Vietnamese Original is posted on Sunday Spirit.
Why translate and repost? Because it’s beautiful.
