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artist.....: Wildbirds And Peacedrums
album......: Rhythm
year.......: 2014
label......: Leaf
BAY94CDP
source.....: CDDA
moodswing..: Alternative
releasesize: 70.38 MB
tracks.....: 09
length.....: 39:49
encoder....: VBR LAME 3.98.4 -v0
quality....: avg. 246kbps
scenealized: 03.25.2015
WeÆve seen some guitar and drums duos.
Bass and drums have been known to make
up the line-up in its entirety, too. A
record where the only musical element -
alongside vocals - is percussion,
however: thatÆs a new one.
Rhythm couldn't be further removed from
the type of novelty project or
punishingly 'arty' undertaking that the
stripped-to-the-bone premise might
suggest. Wildbirds & Peacedrums have
always been a hugely compelling act,
but the duo have at times struggled to
locate a satisfying balance between
experimental instincts and memorable
songwriting. Perhaps vocalist Mariam
Wallentin's recent solo stint under the
Mariam the Believer banner (one of the
duo's many extracurricular activities
in the four years since 2010's River)
has flexed the duo's songwriting
muscles, but Rhythm displays no such
difficulties.
The first album to be recorded in the
band's Stockholm studio, the ethos of
Rhythm was to locate the unadorned core
of Wildbirds & Peacedrums. Taken to its
logical conclusion, this idea led to
all superfluous elements - guest
musicians, extra instruments - being
barred from the proceedings. In less
capable hands, such harsh self-imposed
limitations could easily be the album's
downfall. With Rhythm, it proves to be
a masterstroke. Wallentin and
percussion wizard Andreas Werliin - who
also plays with much-acclaimed impro-
jazz noise collective Fire! Orchestra -
manage to squeeze remarkable degrees of
musicality and warmth from what are
essentially - overdubbed vocal
injections and additional percussion
elements aside - live in studio, first
take performances for drums and voice.
For evidence of just how intoxicating
the album gets, check out the superb
first single "The Offbeat", a four
minute concoction of controlled,
super-funky chaos that could be used as
a lesson on writing vocal hooks and the
correct use of cowbells in subtly
post-punk funk influenced contemporary
music; the rousing, half-desperate and
half-jubilant "Keep Some Hope" is just
as effective. Elsewhere, tracks like
"Ghosts and Pains" and "Soft Wind, Soft
Death" seem sketchy and undercooked at
first, but the jarring elements -
Wallentin's strange ululations on the
former, the disconnect between the
aggressively pounding rhythm and the
melody's graceful gospel hues on the
latter - eventually turn out to be
their most powerful weapons, resulting
in a genuinely fresh and hitherto
untapped brands of invigorating racket.
The album is at times almost
uncomfortably intimate, with the duo's
relationship - working and otherwise -
obviously a major inspiration for the
material. However, there is little cosy
or contended about Rhythm, with
Wallentin's vocal acrobatics - check
out how a few assorted coos, shrieks
and sighs turn into an infectious hook
on the propulsive closer "Everything
All The Time", which careers onwards
unstoppably astride a monstrous groove
Can's Jaki Liebezeit might be proud to
call his own - and Werliin's metronomic
assaults on his kit both speaking of
the frustrations and tensions but also
the release and the joy of crafting
these odd, compelling sounds in a small
space with a person you already spend
an awful lot of time with.
Their sweat and toil is the listener's
gain. The rare misstep aside ("Mind
Blues" churns along restlessly to
little obvious resolution), the
extremely aptly titled Rhythm must
belong amongst the year's more
impressive releases.
psst, more info at theleaflabel.com
01 Ghosts & Pains 03:50
02 The Offbeat 04:10
03 Gold Digger 04:39
04 Mind Blues 03:22
05 Who I Was 02:50
06 Soft Wind, Soft Death 06:20
07 The Unreal Vs. The Real 04:48
08 Keep Some Hope 04:23
09 Everything All The Time 05:27