What do you get when you combine efforts of a Japanese singer-songwriter, an English rock musician, and a Scottish “ground dweller”, who go by the names _, Gnomefoam, and Bunny, respectively? Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete Shimai, which, I am told means “You are completely tired.” in Japanese. But from here on, I will refer to this collaboration as simply Anata Wa.
The members of Anata Wa, the most recent signing onto Bearsuit Records, met while working on their own individual projects for Rack & Ruins records. It was then they decided to work on a collaborative effort. The Sweetness and Light EP, released earlier this summer is what the effort has produced.
As someone who is partial to rock and metal music, I was a bit skeptical when asked to review something labeled experimental pop. But naturally, I gave it a shot. Nothing wrong with expanding my horizons-I will admit, I was a stranger to the genre, but upon listening I was fascinated.
The EP started with the track “Forsake”. There was a certain peacefulness that came with the soft Japanese vocals that could be heard throughout the song. At the same time there was a kind of edge of your seat quality, leading up to the anthemic instrumental ending-quite a lot in a track just short of 3 minutes and 28 seconds.
The next track, “Cataract”, opening with it's dark sounding synth and spoken vocals, proceeded into a dissonant sounding guitar, that normally I would find extraneous but for this, seemed to work well. I will say, however, that I spent much of this song waiting. Maybe it was the impression that I got from “Forsake”, with it's short but powerful ending, but I feel as if “Cataract” was missing something, I just can't put my finger on it.
“Bearskins” came next, the longest track on this EP, clocking in at over 8 minutes. Although my unfamiliarity with this kind of music is... well, quite obvious, “Bearskins” was the first of the five that really, truly piqued my interest. There was a strong Pink Floyd-esque influence in the beginning of the song, leading into a very industrial electronic interlude, parts of which are reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, despite the almost playful bits, that when listened to are immediately recognizable. With what sound like a rain-stick effect, this interlude returns immediately into the Pink Floyd sound that I had recognized and loved initially, which remained for the rest of the track and returned in parts of the remaining EP.
The next song, the title track, subtly continued the touch of Pink Floyd that was displayed in the last song. It starts off with some simple piano and vocals, both vocalized and spoken word. This leads into yet another electronic interlude, this time much less Nine Inch Nails and much more haunting, a quality that remains for the rest of the song.
The last song, entitled “My Drive”, was easily my favorite of the album. Opening with bells and the sound of a car driving away had led into the clean reverb guitar and vocals, produced with effects, again reminding me immediately of Floyd. This remains throughout, even though the urgent return of the bells from the intro, creating a panicked sound, but only for a short time, quickly returning back to the quiet sound the song began with.
Overall, I found this EP rather intriguing. At times, I felt that it was somewhat dissonant, other times it made me want to close my eyes and really live the music as an experience. It was good, albeit not being my usual “cup of tea,” per say. The mixing was excellent, giving this the layers that it needed, for the most part, without over doing it. I found it to be like Pink Floyd meets Massive Attack, with a few smaller influences thrown in. Anyone who is a fan of the experimental pop genre is sure to enjoy this.
Sara Cooper – MuzikReviews.com Contributor
9/17/09
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