In Rotation, November 2006
marZstar
OneThirtyEight – The Sister
Track Listing: ..., The Squid Boy, Waldensian, There’s An Earl On Mars, Sssix Foot Albino Penguins, Alexandra Elsbeth (1864 - 1932).
Only six tracks and 25 minutes long, unlike the other experimental
albums I hear, this seems more like one piece, rather that a
collection of songs. OneThirtyEight’s The Sister is seriously goofy
and a devilishly charming, which is quite an interesting combination,
indeed.
I intentionally didn’t look up whether this is one person or several,
or where or how this was made. Seems better left as a mystery, at least
for the purposes of this review. The word curious (and mad) does come
to mind in a Lewis Carroll sense and though I am extremely curious
what the deal is with this album, it’s so inherently odd that it
almost seems to know more would spoil the fun.
To describe, there’s some electronic elements like samples and bells
and warbley synths, though the majority is piano, guitar and vocals.
The vocals, ah the vocals... How one can make what sounds like singing
underwater through a kazoo sound calming and lovely, or how one can
have titles like “The Squid Boy”, and “Sssix Foot Albino Penguins”, is
beyond me.
Mischievous and perhaps sarcastic, this is music for dark-humoured minds. Or maybe it’s not funny at all and that’s just me. Still, this could be music for The Twilight Zone as a cartoon. The
Sister is refreshingly odd and, just as the id3 tag’s genre states, it’s unclassifiable. It’s a keeper, especially if you like penguins.
Sumerland – Imaginary Ways
Track Listing: Everything in Motion, Elfin Girl, Mermaid, Colosso, So Many Selves, Out of the Body, Inana, Happily Ever After, Butterfly Wings.
Something in Sumerland’s album Imaginary Ways instantly makes me think about DCD’s first album. It’s got to be the sound of the male vocals and even some of the guitar parts, though it would be unfair and
incorrect to stop there, for Sumerland goes beyond there.
Singing about elfin girls, mermaids, and butterfly wings is usually a recipe for cheese soup but somehow these four men pull off the entire
album without me needing to press the skip track button. This was especially a surprise since the, sorry guys, cover art is rather tacky.
Good thing the music doesn’t match the art and titles, for if it did, I probably would not have liked Imaginary Ways. Come to think of it,
perhaps the music doesn’t match the lyrics as much either. This is all a good thing though because I do like the music itself and the overall
feeling it creates, and it is all about the music.
They have a variety of moments; some minimal, some spacey, and I was glad to find that although there are titles like “Elfin Girl” and
“Mermaid,” the album was not folky, at all, as I expected. More so, it is an electronic wash of shoegaze bliss. Mmm, bliss. Saved by the
bliss. I can listen this and the fear of cheese dissipates with repeat listenings for it is overshadowed by the avid use of effects. Yay,
effects. It is a bit dramatic at times, but aren’t we all?
The Opposite Sex
Track Listing: Dollhouse, Ceremony, The Sound, All Consuming.
New wave, goth, post-punk, baby. Three members in this band, all boys and I can’t help it: First thing I thought of when I heard The
Opposite Sex was Joy Division meets Bauhaus. I like them a lot. It’s the tone of the bass along with the moody, broody male vocals
accompanying warm electronic bass... and it almost escaped me, perhaps the ultimate touch, the wash of guitar feedback playing throughout the
entire first track, “all consuming.”. The drums are a bit minimal and driving, which is what they need to be.
These boys win. All too often when a band is so reminiscent of other bands to me, I lose respect for them. Not with The Opposite Sex.
Somehow they’ve managed to bring new life to old favorites. Seems they are creating a sound that they know and love and do it naturally
rather than as an imitation. There are only four songs on the 2005 self-titled album and I wish there were more, for they grow on me with
each hearing. I bet they are even better live and will have to check them out in January 2007 when they play in New York.
Chain Bridge – Lanchid
Track Listing: Spooky Castle In Budo, Symphony 3001, Track On The Run, Watch Your Steps, Italian Movie, Thought After Gigs, Danger Zone, See-Thru Rainbow, Sea Breeze.
Do you like experimental electronic music? Dark ambient, cinematic,
atmospheric improvisation landscapes of music that could not have been made without the invention of general midi? If so, you will like this. If not, don’t bother. I happen to be a fan, so lucky me.
Lanchid was released in 1998, and it sounds like it, though that’s not a bad thing. There’s no vocals, and it’s possible
the sounds were all produced from one synthesizer, granted a rather robust and varied synth, yet I like it. There are no “beats” yet it is very rhythmic and syncopated. It makes me wonder if the creator, Gabor Kemeny, has had formal classical and perhaps a varied music background.
The tracks seem almost random if the titles are ignored. Once titles are read, another dimension appears: suddenly each track seems a much more
specific musical illustration of an idea. A story is told. Soundtracks to the invisible cinema of your mind. I keep seeing stop-motion
animations, like little bugs and butterfly wings having existential conversations over high tea at a picnic. In space, of course.
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