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For a while now, the releases on Neo Ouija have come from artists with a subtly distinct, almost personal style that sets them apart from other releases, and whilst this trend has become somewhat diluted of late it is happily not the case with The End Of Tel Aviv, the debut long player from Faction. There may be nothing particularly daring or new about the intricate, micro-electronica formula employed across the whole album, but like the label’s breathtaking releases by Deru and Xela, there’s an interesting and unique slant on the chosen formula that makes this release a little bit special. Isolating and identifying that elusive slant is, however, not an easy task.
The End Of Tel-Aviv is surprisingly difficult to describe. There’s certainly a refreshingly natural feeling pervading many of the tracks here – whilst the production is very clearly electronic, clever use of natural, traditional and above all real sounding percussion on several of the tracks has been utilized to striking effect.
What is abundantly clear is how perfectly balanced it all is: crisp, often complex yet entirely unobtrusive percussion, clicks and pops are blended expertly with clean, fresh pads, warm, atmospheric washes and calm, hypnotic melodies. It’s a heady and almost fragrant combination that reaches its peak in the dreamlike, almost intoxicating closing title track.
The End Of Tel-Aviv is also notable because of its flexibility and accessibility. Despite the relatively uniform sound-design that spans the whole album it never flags, it’s atmospheres becoming richer, deeper and more involving with each track. And yet it’s just as rewarding dipping into the album to listen to one or two tracks in isolation, as it is to sit back and enjoy its entire atmospheric arc. It also rewards equally as relaxing background music and as smoothly detailed and involving listening music; Quite an achievement.
If you can find a website the features samples from the album, (one of the problems with the Neo Ouija site is that you can’t listen to preview samples of their releases), they should give you a good idea of what to expect from this richly textured work. Alternatively, you can visit www.sutemos.net and listen to the exclusive Faction track that appears on the Intelligent Toys 2 compilation.
Highly recommended.
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Another group hailing from Israel, Zegunder present their debut for the Neo Ouija
label. Unfortunately, Distant Birds… Thought They Were Leaves is at once beautiful,
interesting and, in places, actively annoying.
No disrespect to Daphne Haller but Zegunder’s music works best without vocals. With
the few exceptions where her voice is used almost as an instrument, they add little
or nothing to the overall impact of the music. The elven, twee and breathy female
vocals layered over acoustic electronica is well on its way to becoming a tired
cliche now, and there are other record labels who release far superior music of that
kind in any case.
For example, the lilting piano and delicately distorted guitars of “After The Rain”
slowly seep into the consciousness until all of a sudden they are interrupted by the
cringe inducing “And in the morning… light came through…” It’s bland,
unnecessary and intrusive. It also doesn’t help that this particular vocal burst is
barely melodically compatible with the rest of the music. The track recovers
beautifully once the vocal disappears, leading to an almost heavenly, lengthy
dissolve.
There are numerous examples that illustrate Zegunder’s formula working really
effectively and some standout tracks include the promising opener, “Breakwater,” a
bright souffle of chittering clicks, Cocteau Twins-esque guitars and a genuinely
sweet melody; “Holding On,” a delicate blend of distant, defocused vocal whirls,
soft chimes and airy atmospherics; or there’s the refreshingly simple twitterings of
“Woolgather.”
In places, however, it all sounds a little flat and under-produced, and for some
reason I’m constantly reminded of the music from Lucasarts’ Secret Of Monkey
Island games. Odd. There’s also a rather dry sound that pervades much of the album,
which is unusual given the relative complexity of much of the material here.
The shoegaze-tronica fusion of acoustic, vocal and electronic has been done in far
more interesting and superior ways elsewhere and much of the material on this album
tends to meander a little too much. That said, Distant Birds… Thought They Were Leaves is, in places, a very pleasant listen indeed.
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Both releases are currently available on Neo Ouija.
