Label: Kitty-Yo (Europe)/Mute (USA) Format: CD,LP
There’s something extraordinarily contradictory about Tarwater‘s music. At least, that’s what their promo material says. And who am I to argue? Animals, Suns & Atoms opens with a mish-mash of spacey electronics blending seamlessly into the surreal and sinister “All Of The Ants Left Paris” on which Ronald Lippok‘s sanguine vocals sound strangely like an absinthe-soaked Lou Reed left to mutter ominously on a Paris side-street (and yes, that’s Ronald Lippok of To Rococo Rot). There’s something almost Brechtian about the atmosphere of this album, and yet at the same time it’s difficult to deny the Dub-pop sound of the music which lilts breezily along in a frenzy of “catchiness”. See what I mean…? Contradictory as hell.
The music here is rich and dense, but is prevented from being in any way dark by just how melodic it is. So you’re left with something that’s perfect to listen to in a candle-lit room, on your back on the floor, but is also a perfect accompaniment to a summer’s day in the park.
More bloody contradictions.
Animals, Suns & Atoms is a deeply unusual album. It’s also very, very good. The lyrics are wonderfully bizarre, particluarly on “Early Rises”, a track that both musically and lyrically dwells somewhere between Talking Heads and Yossarian. No mean feat. And surprisingly listenable. Lippok’s vocals manage to be highly distinctive, and yet reminiscent of so many classic ‘voices’. From those early wanderings into Lou Reed territory, Lippok then treats us to flirtations with Bowieness and even Bob-Smithness whilst always retaining his own uniqueness. (Or something)
There’s a huge diversity to the tracks on Animals, Suns & Atoms which is why it’s so difficult to pin-point exactly what makes it so remarkably good. “Babyuniverse”, with its beautifully haunting piano line is so very different to “Song Of The Moth”, which appears to have the melody of “The Girl From Ipanema” picked out in birdsong (… General MIDI instrument 123 for muso bastards like me) faintly playing in the background. And yet neither sound out of place next to one another, and nor do the other 9 – equally diverse – tracks.
I can’t recommend this album highly enough. It’s one of the most unusual records I’ve heard in a long time; it’s light and it’s humourous but still has substance by the shed-load. It’s rich and warm with strings and pianos galore, but is nonetheless as fine a slice of electronica as you’re likely to hear this summer. It’s weird and surreal and there’s no ‘but’ to this sentence. Get hold of Animals, Suns & Atoms. Music this good deserves to be heard.
-Grufty Jim-
