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Grant Kirkhope – “Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning OST” Review
Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning has been a game on many people’s radar for a while and now its out, one thing many will agree on is that it has a good soundtrack – one that’s now being released! Grant Kirkhope has a long legacy of memorable soundtracks but in the world of orchestrated soundtracks is this one of them?
“Reckoning Main Theme” reminds me of the Medievil games music with its slightly quirky/creepy b-movie vibe to it. Jots of jingling, cymbal rolls and some wonderful orchestration that is fast, flowing and proud to be bursting onto your ear drums. Tim Burton take one. “The Age of Arcana” takes the main motifs from the theme and subdues them to a mood piece, one that is built upon with “Dead’s Dead”. ”Well of Souls” concludes the opening set.
“Troll” is the first big dramatic theme with thumping strings providing the tense beat as the brass bleeds across the speakers and some fantastic wind instruments flourish in some really complex melodies. “Dalentarth” is a tribute to the xylophone to woodwind for the main motif before “House of Ballads” provides a nice regal theme to the mix. “Warsworn” is a brass heavy fanfare. “Mines and Caves” is more a background drone and ambience piece than anything else, more akin to a haunted house feel. ”Gardens of Ysa” brings its own motif and melody which steers close to the main one but has some interesting chord choices, while “Niskaru” feels like Troll evolved.
“The Plains of Erathell” uses broad string sweeps to convey its grand scale while “Titarion” is almost claustrophobic in its production. “Scholia Arcana” returns to Danny Elfman like charms to give a quirky feel to every note and scale. “Rathir” is cinematic but too short.
It’s at this half way point that you’ll wonder where things are going. Much in the way of a film soundtrack and many of the orchestral game soundtracks, it feels like a cut-scene and battles only soundtrack and with 35 tracks, all of which using a few motifs to keep a pattern and story flowing. Its going to divide people. “Fight!” continues the Elfman charms with some real 1950′s alien horror classical music. Its one of the best tracks on the soundtrack and that’s because its given time to develop and be a full track. Instead “Adessa”, which has a lovely motif to it, is over too quickly because it doesn’t linger and manifest itself long enough.
This problem plagues the soundtrack and I have always struggled with soundtrack’s that pile in the music without giving it time to develop. Its compounded here because while the music is very cinematic, it’s not immediately accessible. “The Erathi Ruins” is one that works well because it again is given room to breathe. “Conflict” shows Kirkhope’s excellent battle music nouse once again with a track both kooky and full of tension and terror. “To War” is another good short piece as is the closing track “Tirnoch” but by the time I’d hit the end I just hadn’t connected.
There is some excellent music here buried in among a lot of short cinematic pieces and they weigh down the other pieces. I personally would have preferred more of the locale musics or even a looped version of some tracks. Here Grant Kirkhope’s music feels a little pressurised and while it does feel like a great tribute to Danny Elfman, it’s not a soundtrack I plan to return to time and time again – until I at least get to play the game and associate the music clips with something tangible. Fans only need apply.
Martyrs of Sound – “Radhe’s Dream” Review
Martyrs of Sound specialise in meditative music. Clean, simple, warm and full of the essence of music, Radhe’s Dream is simply a heavenly joy to close your eyes to.
Opening with “Song of the Universe” the music is dominated by the warmth of a slowly plucked 12 String Guitar with minimal keyboard swirls in the background and the occasional other acoustic instrument echoing in the background. Seamlessly flowing into “Soul’s Awakening” which adds in piano to the original track and slowly some soft vocal hums and some lovely rain stick work too. “Soul’s Emergence” continues to grow on the four chords that have been gradually weaved upon with some tuned percussion and some stereo electronica work before “Song of the Beloved” adds in some wonderful electric-acoustic guitar work over the top. The whole album carries a certain cyclic feel throughout and is absolutely hypnotic even by track four. Even though it is effectively a four chord repetition and doesn’t feel like it.
“Radhe’s Dream” starts a new phase of the album where the same chords are kept but not with the same pitch as the guitar softens and is taken up an octave before “Radhe’s Dream” itself kicks in and finally we have our first vocal lead with soft harmonised and doubled up vocal patterns. It’s about as close to a single as you can get on the album and is easy to enter into as a standalone track although the album works best played as a whole entity. The guitar work throughout is beautiful.
“Govinda’s Dream” enters a third phase of the cycle as we enter a shimmering sparkling world and the four chord pattern becomes a single droning Raj. Guitar freeflows over the top while an electric percussive beat pans beautifully from ear to ear. “Om Shanti” takes things further with a more complex arrangement merging the Asian with the blues. It’s the blues that wins out in time for “Soul’s Tantra” which starts to repeat a riff that has been present over the last few tracks but in a more subtle way while the vocals take more prominence here and in “Song of Jai”.
By this point you should be utterly relaxed as the Raj gives way to “Soul Awakening Reprise” which soon returns to the beautiful four chord structure and “Radhe’s Dream Reprise” shows that actually, the Raj and four chord structures were together all along and we just hadn’t felt them both in our presence at the same time. As if then being pulled out of the circle and being cleansed “Beautiful” then appears to close the album with all the elements that we’ve had throughout the album brought together in one beautifully heart-wrenching and ethereal track.
Martyrs of Sound have achieved a wonderful album. This is ultimate relaxation music. Enhanced with a warm bath, candles, maybe even drifting off with a loved one – I whole heartedly recommend this to anyone into acoustic relaxation music with heart and substance – not the tepid and soulless meditation music that’s all about a single phasing keyboard note. This takes you literally to a Higher Plain of Music.
Relevant Discord – “The Refrain / The Days of Deferment” Reviews
Relevant Discord are a band from Oregon, USA and have released two singles to date to introduce themselves to the world – and they do so with aplomb.
“The Refrain” takes all the best things from power chord rock we grew to love in the early 2000′s, all the best parts of grunge rock vocals and then adds a background symphony of keyboards and strings and places it in the melting pot. The results are a track that’s instantly catchy, heavy, dramatic and one that also has a certain something that separates it from the usual emo-esque riff rock.
“The Days of Deferment” takes things a step further to the symphonic side while the mosh heavy main riff plays out over an audio wash of strings. It’s fantastic how the production fills every single piece of the speaker and bursts into life without it becoming overcrowded.
With their first two singles out, we are now eager to get our mits on a full length album! Relevant Discord have quickly become our power rock symphony of choice and we encourage everyone to join in on the drama.
Whispers of the Plains – Interview with Jeff Broadbent
With new downloadable title I Am Alive about to burst onto our consoles, composer of the game Jeff Broadbent took a few minutes to chat to HPM about exactly what to aim for when creating a rich atmosphere for a game where tension is key.
I Am Alive has been a game that has been on many gamers radar for a very long time under its various guises. Now it’s nearing release it appears to have quite a lot of people talking about its unique atmosphere which of course, a lot of it is down to the sound design and the music scoring. Tell us how the project come about for yourself?
I first got involved in the pitch for the game in Winter of 2011, after contacting the audio director and learning about the project. I created a custom demo showing different approaches for the gameplay music, as well as a couple of main theme concepts, and based on those samples I was selected to score the project.
In such a taut and tense game that relies on its atmosphere, the scoring is paramount. How do you try to tap into the game world you are scoring for?
Taking the time before any composing begins to understand the game, the back-story, and the emotional content is very important. For I Am Alive, I learned as much as possible from the developers, looked at concept art, and was even reading Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road at the time. I try to immerse myself in the concept of the game in many different ways. One can draw inspiration from all different sources, and I find that in addition to visual concept art and learning about the game, reading related literature can really put you in the mind frame of the characters and their situations.
In the game a lot of ambience is used which fit the desolate landscapes perfectly. How did you find the type of sounds you were looking and what did you use to get there?
I started by envisioning the environment the main character finds himself him. The audio director Zhang Lei had the idea that the music could represent the materials and environments of the game. A musical example he shared with me was Ingram Marshall’s composition Fog Tropes, which incorporates the tones of a fog horn into the ambient musical soundscape. In I Am Alive, we used a similar approach for certain parts of the game. For example, in one section of the game you find yourself in an abandoned and crumbling pier park. For this music I used materials such as large bell tones, creaking ambiences, and bowed metals, which are elements associated with that environment. By using reverbs, distortion, delays, pitch shifting, and other manipulations, the audio was transformed in various ways. In addition to these natural/organic elements, a variety of synthetic tones and electronics were also used for variety and more foreboding colors.
Is it much harder to create an ambience that doesn’t completely take over the experience, but actually contributes to it without the player knowing, than writing straight motifs that stand out? Is there an art to ambience?
I wouldn’t say that either is harder, as they each have their challenges. In more traditional, motif-driven music, you are working to craft tuneful, memorable themes, using more typical instrumentation and harmonic approaches. When creating ambient music, the character of the sounds themselves is essential, so great care must go into sound creation and combinations. There certainly is an art to ambience – a lot of great modern music by composers such as John Luther Adams, Brian Eno, and Morton Feldman is very ambient. It is like impressionist and abstract visual art, where the beauty lies in the combination of color, shape, and texture. With music, you are using aural colors to paint the soundscape.
For the motifs themselves, and the more dramatic compositions and themes, did you have ideas for particular instruments to take the lead from the start or did it develop organically?
While I had ideas of the emotions I wanted to convey, I didn’t start with particular instruments in mind. We experimented with different approaches to get the appropriate instrumentation. For the main theme of the game, solo piano presenting an unsettling motif proved to be effective. For the music representing the man’s longing for his lost family, and his interactions with the child Mei, a combination of solo oboe, strings, gentle ambience, and piano were used. We found that these instruments could present emotional, yet simple and not excessively dramatic musical expression.
You’ve stated before that the project allowed for you to have a lot of creative freedom. Is there anything in particular you’re especially proud of or something that we can keep an ear out for that’s unusual?
I personally enjoy how a unique approach to both ambience and rhythm was achieved. For example, when the player is climbing and becomes fatigued, an interesting combination of aleatoric string techniques and sound design elements was used. For the tension music throughout the game, unique rhythmic elements fade in as the player approaches a dangerous situation. To sum up, I’m fond of the unique sonic elements in the game, and how the score conveys a sense of danger in a post-apocalyptic world, as well as the human emotions of hope and connection.
After I Am Alive, do you have any other works in the pipeline? Also, are there plans for a soundtrack release?
I’m currently preparing to score a big game in a couple of months, and am also working on some trailer and action music for a couple of production companies. As for a soundtrack release, I hope that we will see the music released via soundtrack, but at this time I can’t say for certain.
Finally, in the event of a world ending disaster, where would we find you and what would you be up to?
I’d probably be stocking piling food, water, and ammunition, while playing I Am Alive in a fortified bunker at an undisclosed location =)
Higher Plain Music would like to thank Jeff for taking the time to talk to us and wish him best of luck with the game and his musical future. We say the location would be his recording studio!
Introducing… Lila Rose
Welcome to the world of Lila Rose – a fantastic singer/songwriter with some interesting sounds to pique your ears with.
Rachel Sermanni – “Black Currents” Review
Hotly tipped new artist Rachel Sermanni is starting to make waves with her new EP “Black Currents” which as any good EP should, opens windows to Rachel’s musical world.
“Breath Easy” is a delicate acoustic guitar song with washes of piano and strings that breeze in and out throughout. Rachel’s vocals are a mixture of the simple purity of Emiliana Torrini and the husky undertones of Sarah Blasko with music matching a mixture of the two as well. “The Fog” is a darker, more immediate track that has a surging power in the choruses and an eerie pulsation of the guitar in the verses. The pizzicato string arrangement is kooky and willow wisp ooh’s evoke a dream state gone wrong. It’s a fantastic track. Title track “Black Currents” mixes the previous two tracks to provide a mature sound for someone so young that ebbs and flows and waltz along effortlessly before “Song to a Fox” utilises some minimal ambience and keyboard effects to perfectly emphasis the emptiness and space between us all in a sombre closer.
Rachel Sermanni falls perfectly into the acoustic rock female movement that is already crowded – but there’s always room for more. Each song is has tenderness and a bite to it and also a layer of depth. Hopefully Rachel’s talent will shine through to plenty of new listeners and we have witnessed the birth of a great musician taking flight.
Bic Runga – “Belle” Review
Bic Runga returned quietly with her 4th studio album “Belle” at the end of the last year which still hasn’t reached the UK shores yet but is available to get on digital download from online retailers. This time Runga is happy and it shows in a light and melodic album.
“Tiny Little Piece of my Heart” is a hark back to the 60′s with rough round the edges percussion and plinky pianos – verging on Mo-town! Paired up with lead single “Hello, Hello” which has such a joyously infectious chorus, you can feel a rush of new energy flowing over you. I enjoyed Birds, but it was a restrained and delicate for the most part. Here things are simple, straightforward and direct. Happy chords, strong vocals and little motifs hidden away to discover in background instruments. “If You Really Do” is a bass heavy track that’s had a lot of the reverb sucked out of it. Bic’s vocals here are simply delicious as the sweetest oozes through the speakers.
“The Girls Prepared for War” is very Bowie-esque with its spacey guitars and echoing vocals over a slightly psychedelic rock track. There’s some interesting chord patterns here too as guitars drone and slide from ear to ear. “Everything is Beautiful and New” follows in a similar vein with a seductive acoustic track with a mellow ambivalence to it. Almost like a laid back Trust in Me. “Good Love” is a great mixture of the previous two tracks more seductive alluring but deadly mood with the more upbeat opening trio of tracks. There’s some fun experimenting with some keyboards on this track which see’s Bic veering off to new territory too.
“Devil on Tambourine” is a fun hark back to electric guitar led 60′s psychedelic folk but it fades out before it’s really finished and deserves a bit longer on air. Equally brief is the title track “Belle” which is a harp/keyboard/vocal track in French. It’s completely different to anything else on the album but is utterly enchanting and luscious beautiful. It paves the way for more experimental “Darkness is All Around Us” which has an epic sway to it. There’s a lot of bleeding chanting la’s, phasing keyboard synths flying all over the place and a marching band track. We end up back full circle with most bluesy we’ve seen Bic with “Music and Light” with thick piano, finger clicks and hushed vocals.
“Belle” isn’t an album to break out of new traditions. It’s very much in a similar vein to Drive and Beautiful Collision but there’s a confidence, an ease and a warm familiarity to it. Warm, seductive and enchanting, Belle is a beautiful album.
Stereo Alchemy – “God of Love” Review
Stereo Alchemy is the product of twice Grammy winning composer Christopher Tin and Grammy nominated percussionist Kametron. God of Love is their début album together and showcases a broad spectrum of electro excellence.
“A Rapture” is a classic case in point. Starting out with ambient murmurings before breaking out into a stadium stomping wash of electronics and plush keyboard exploding seascapes. Equal parts isolating and warming, it blasts into epic chorus moments and shows real scope. “Unbound” is more gritty and crunchy guitar lead track and the pounding percussive nature of the guitar chugs really gets your pulse racing.
“God of Love” is the title track and where the concept of the album really fleshes out before your ears. Each song relates to a poem about Love or Death and they very much become characters during the album itself. The title track is simply mesmerizing. It’s a track that seems to spread far beyond the depths of the speakers the music blasts from and the drums and the vocals play together beautifully.
“She Walks in Beauty” is one of the more straight-laced tracks with some insanely catchy electronic work and sublime vocal work from a soulful male lead. It feels retrotastic in many ways yet it’s got a new pair of sneakers and is enjoying the ride. “Is It Possible” reminds me of Savage Garden – some of the best pop of the late 90′s – with extra funk! The percussion and beats in this track are unreal Kametron is definitely pressing hundreds of buttons a minute here and the ending minute is euphoria in a riff.
“Monster of the Sky” veers right across the edgy darkness that inhabited underground electronica in the 90s and reminds me of a crystal clean version of the band Curve. The chorus is rip-roaring and the guitar / bass lines added to reverbing vocals and nutty drum loops make everything tingle and explode like lit touch-paper.
“To Eternity” is a great hybrid of absolutely everything the album does wrapped up in one track. Starting out as a beautifully angelic number it slowly evolves into a riff rock disco track. In one way it’s got all the excellence that was the over produced 80′s way of musical life but the difference is Tin has managed to work everything into having its own space. Outstanding. ”My Hearts Fit to Break” is a more melodic track with lots of shimmering grit and glitz over fragile vocal delivery. The vocal performances of Melissa R Kaplan, Mozez and Lia Rose are spot on throughout and should be commended.
“Young Lovers” is so 1990 it is impossible to not smile and dance away to. Infectiously happy, delirious with its power chords and pumping beats – perfect for a sunny drive with the top down. “Love is Love” closes the album with a minimalistic chord swirl ballad that is both enlightening and understated in its beauty. The lyrics shine here, as they do throughout.
Stereo Alchemy have blown me away. The sheer complexity of some of the tracks is mind-boggling from the percussion to the little nuances and frequency changes in all the instruments as they go. It’s these things that elevate a good album to a truly great one. Quite frankly, God of Love is one long eargasm from start to finish and is firmly the first contender for album of the year on this site.
Live vault – Peter Bjargo
Peter Bjargo has a new album coming soon. I wonder if this new song shown in 2010 The Cage is on it. Sounds promising (despite what sounds like a sound problem with the vocals here)!
Video Vault – Bic Runga
Bic Runga’s 4th full album Belle arrived at the end of 2011 but hasn’t made it to UK shores. Still, everyone can get it on digital download and this time things are more upbeat! Welcome to Hello, Hello!
Hirokazu Tanaka – “Kid Icarus / Metroid Original Orchestra Version” Review
“Kid Iracus (Partena No Kagami) & Metroid” is a very old and rare cassette from back in the 80′s taking just 6 tracks and about 14 minutes of music from the two games. Yet the last time I saw it auctioned on e-bay it was sold at a shockingly high price! Was the music worth it?
The opening song “Theme (Partena’s Mirror)” is a beautiful and regal synth piece that layers some lovely ethereal chords over the classic old school blips and drum loops of the original and it works to great effect – very uplifting. Track 2 is a medley of the music from Partena’s Mirror using the same style as before. Each segment of the piece has a very specific scene setting. It stars of regal before taking on a middle eastern feel and becoming more and more complex like a battle theme. The different tunes are sown together perfectly in a way that many other medleys really fail to achieve. The final track from Partena’s Mirror is fittingly “Ending” which is dramatic, fast paced and enjoyable.
The Metroid songs now take to the stage with “Title” which is very futuristic at the start, with a military drum beat and the beautiful original synth melodies ringing throughout. The Metroid BGM medley follows and this too flows just as well as the previous medley but is a little darker in tone and plays a lot like a synth stadium rock band. The final track is of course “Ending” which playfully skips along without offence.
For many this wont appeal unless you enjoy going back to VGM’s roots. The songs while catchy in places and have nice hooks, are not exactly earth shattering but they do show the gap between classic and arranged VGM being merged which is very interesting to listen to from both an educational and from a listener’s point of view. This is a purists purchase only.
Module – Imagineering Album Sampler
Module (Shatter OST) is returning with a new album away from games. Entitled Imagineering, it’s due out in March. Here’s a sample below.
Kenichi Okuma – “GotzenDiener OST” Review
GotzenDiener OGM is a quirky little album that is half arranged and acoustic guitar for a more laid back piece of music in places.
“Main theme” however has a very oriental flavour for it in terms of percussion, instrumentation and tune. It has some excellent little stand out touches and has beautiful streaming drum loops throughout and is a different but very pleasant experience. ”Princess Sorceress” starts off the guitar section. The tune and playing are very laid back, like a Sunday morning stroll. It’s very chilled although the tune isn’t shockingly strong during the first half of the song, it does grow on you quickly and the middle section is funky.
“Sword of Fate” didnt grab me as a song at all. It uses a string synth from a keyboard in short stabs throughout the song (like a horror movie) and its awful! The song could have been twice as good without that, but the tune lacks stability and hook. ”Graveyard Labrynth” is a downbeat and darkened song that is thoughtfully played and slightly eerie because of its haunting use of a guitar in the background supporting the main tune. The other end of eerie is more manic and that’s where “Rim~Goddess of Persistence” takes us for a screechy violin piece on top of eastern pop music madness with an organ going metal at every opportunity. Each contrast the other but both are superb songs.
“Crystal Reef” returns to the guitar but with a sitar setting out the main tune in another dark and damp tune of moody excellence which reminds me of a separated twin of Final Fantasy 8′s “Find Your Way”! “Rebirth” starts off with a heartbeat before the song starts. A contrast of angelic harps and flutes set of against harsh synth noises to make a mean with a twist song before it builds up to a lovely climax like an orchestra. That build up leads us to “Devil Temple” which is demonic enough with some mental freak out use of sound effects to twist and compact the instruments at points in the song to send the listener into a frenzy. It’s very unique and it works very well in between all different climaxes that make this a real stand out piece! The closing track “Misa” is returns to the oriental flavour set on the first song with a catchy number that wouldn’t be out-of-place in something like Shenmue or Suikoden!
GotzenDiener is an album that branches out in all different areas of music during its 9 songs. Almost all of them successfully capture what’s great about video game music and so I must recommend this to everyone. Give it three listens and I’m sure you’ll share my sentiments!
Nobuo Uematsu – “Final Fantasy V Dear Friends” Review
“Dear Friends” is the arranged FFV album, selecting 14 songs and transforming them into real instrumentation.
“Ahead On Our Way” starts off with a nice chant, before using keyboards and drum loops to re-produce the song in a way that sounds like an 80′s synthesizer song. It is very faithful to the original and is a lovely start to the album. ”Lenna’s Theme” is given a beautiful rendition on the softest of guitars, flutes and pads ever, to give a soothing lullaby that is so very easy on the ears.
“Pirates Ahoy” is a magnificently dark and devious song, using a guitar and keyboards to re-do the song to great success. Then suddenly, the song changes into chanting and wild animals. It blends well and gives a sense of a hard journey. “Critter Tripper Fritter” is a great comical song, using every bizarre instrument it can possibly use to make it sound like a circus gone mad! The result is three minutes of pure lunacy and one that is very welcome in this diverse album.
“Intention Of The Earth” is the most dramatic piece so far, with soaring keyboards, bass filled drums and gongs. This song comes to life with the improved instruments, as do they all, as you can get the real mysterious feel with all the true zest of the instruments. ”My Home, Sweet Home” is a vocal song, which is sweetening and charming. Using both English and Finnish, the song emphasises the importance of your real home and your mother tongue. It’s a great piece of insight and one I have a special spot for. ”The Land Unknown” is done in the same way as the opening track, staying very faithful to the original and reacting it with real instruments.
“Tenderness In The Air” is done almost completely on harpsichord that makes for an unusual diversion from the usual piano and it is played very well indeed while “Waltz Suomi” is done in a typical French manner and keeps nicely in time, doing the main theme in various different off-key and off beat styles before having a graceful finish.
“Fate In Haze” makes itself nicely mysterious with its slow tune but that fades away to become a beautiful tune for the choruses and a good build up for a nice finish again. “As I Feel, You Feel” is the first piano based song on the album, and they’ve given it to the right song. Also, there is a narration read over the top of the piece. The music with starts to sound a little lost, suddenly finds its place in accompaniment. The narration is heartfelt, and the singing in the background along with it makes it sound very isolated and cold. Strange, an acquired taste, but well done.
“Musica Machina” gives us a dramatic piece, that will have you stomping your feet to the big beat and heavy synth strings. “Music Box” does exactly what is says on the tin, but how so! It’s an adorable tune, no one can listen to this song and not think “Aww!” The closing track is fittingly “Dear Friends” which is played to precision on a guitar, and before long other instruments fit into the song making it a lovely warming away to end an extremely varied album.
“Final Fantasy V Dear Friends” is a rare treat. It does a bit of everything and does it all extremely well, with no reason to fault it at all. If you loved the game’s music, you’ll adore this. There’s always that extra pinch of excitement seeing how synth music turns out on the real instruments and this is a lesson on how it should be done.
St Vincent – “Strange Mercy” Review
St Vincent’s third full length album came smashing in at the end of 2011 and made a huge impact for me. Perfectly mistimed, mistuned, ugly and boisterous yet full of quirks and beauty within. It’s one of the best audio messes I’ve heard in age.
Opening with “Chloe in the Afternoon” we’re given heavy production, awkward drum beats, wavy guitars and shuffling melodies that are both catchy and eerie at the same time. St Vincent’s vocals are sublime too. Like much of the album, there’s an overlying arc and melody that hits on the opening listen and then you find several other melodies hidden away on further investigation and it’s what makes Strange Mercy as a whole, such a compelling album. Single “Cruel” (with a great music video) is about a straight as they come with a simple hook for a chorus line but the verses and codas are just free-falling angelic flourishes. It’s big, brash, overdriven and great.
“Cheerleader” is a lethargic grind in the best possible way. Lazy faded guitars and held back vocal delivery serves well for the big bursts of bleeding pyrotechnics for a chorus. The beat is almost like a stomping a foot to protest exactly that St Vincent doesn’t want to cheer lead anymore! “Surgeon” is more relaxed with a lot of 70/80′s synth work with some extra funky electric piano swirls. There’s a noise of a vocal/keyboard combination that sounds slightly like a choir that runs throughout the album but here it is used a lot to great effect.
“Northern Lights” is a great rock out track with some fantastic lyrics that I can really relate to. This is the freak out song of the album with crazy solo’s and frantic vocals. The title track “Strange Mercy” is the first quiet track on the album with a clunky drum beat and some lonely spacey keyboard works floating over airy guitars. St Vincent uses her light voice to great effect with precision too. “Neutered Fruit” has some excellent guitar flexing throughout and a real funky track. Not the most catchiest but it holds a different space to the rest with its more minimal approach for the vast majority of the song before it’s a huge finale.
“Champagne Year” is a spacey track that is held by ethereal ambience, humming bass and a kick beat for the first half before other instruments join. It’s very floaty and dreamy. “Dilettante” has a production where all the fuzz and echo is taken away, almost like the life has been sucked out the music and sounds completely different to everything else on the record. The rest of the album has a certain sustain on it but not here. “Hysterical Strength” reminds me of the TV show Knight Rider! There’s a certain 80′s cheese to the main theme of it – in a good way! It’s the chugging bass line and processed drums that do it. It is a fun and frantic track which tidies everything up nicely for the closer “Year of the Tiger” which is a classic St Vincent track and perfectly sums up the album with strange production, chords that don’t usually get placed together and time structures that aren’t the norm.
“Strange Mercy” takes three or four listens before you fully appreciate it. A lot of people say why doesn’t she strip down her albums like some of her acoustic performances. I say keep her pushing the boundaries of sonic sounds on record and let her tour acoustically and that way we get both sides of this fantastic artist.
Video Vault – Derek Bishop
Always fun and complete with a cap, Derek Bishop’s latest video is for “Why Hold On”, a bluesy honky tonk tumble through the leaves from his album Resistance is Beautiful.
Zola Jesus – Conatus Review
Sneaking in as #10 in my top albums for 2010 – Zola Jesus was an entirely new singer/songwriter to me late on last year. Conatus was her release that pushed her into spotlight.
The atmospheric “Swords” slides you into her industrial clinic electronic before “Avalanche” introduces you to Zola’s sumptuous voice that cuts like a knife but also it holds a certain depth. Matched with the darkness of the ambient electronic swirling around you it feels like a much darker Cocteau Twin vibe, or should you say Lisa Gerrard is an Angel, Zola would be the devil. The Cocteau vibe hits hardest with “Vessel” where the song flickers and merges on vocal loops over itself into a blurred frenzy in a fantastic stand out single.
“Hikikomori” is a builder track where the keyboards and vocals slowly build over the same few chords and patterns to its triumphant finale before “Ixode”‘s pumping kick beat turns the dark dampness of the depths of Zola’s soul into a mild dance track. You don’t necessarily understand what is being sung but it’s like emotion is being transposed into a vocal sound. It feels strangely enlightening. ”Seekir” takes this one step further with a more straightforward dance-esque track full of lifeless instrumentation and Zola’s flowing voice soaring over the top.
“In Your Nature” for some unknown reason reminds me of a 90′s M-People track Zola style! It’s has a hook that’s actually quite joyous and harmonious and is the first really uplifting song with its strident beat and chords. “Like The Palm of the Burning Handshake” is a very broken and disjointed track which does work well but takes a couple of listens to appreciate it’s very stilted approach to piano playing and keyboard synths. The ending section is very anthemic though and makes up for it if you’re not a fan of that style of song. “Shivers” is a wonderfully constructed track of mini percussive elements of clicks and scrapes before an insanely catchy chorus takes over. A personal highlight.
“Skin” is a very minimal piano / vocal / cymbal shimmering track that is delicate, eerie and beautiful before the album closes with “Collapse” which is like a buzzing healing energy that washes over the rest of the album to try and cleanse all the hurt that you’ve travelled through to get there.
“Conatus” is in many ways a simple album. The songs have a similar sound, structure and poise. It’s the overall feeling and setting of everything though that makes the album far more than the sum of its parts. It’s uplifting, its dank, its a bloodied scream of pain that calls you in like a siren. That is Zola Jesus.
