It's
apparent both in its publicity materials and in its recordings that
the Chicago-based band Tenki aspires to the epic.
Yet by that measure, the band's newest release - the second in its two-part CD series We're Not Talking About the Universe Are We (on the Quad Cities-based Future Appletree label) - comes up short. Aside from the intentional brevity of its running time - 33 minutes - the songs are too compact for the band to stretch its legs. Almost all the songs clock in at around three minutes, and they need to be longer.
"Do You Think ... " is under three minutes, and the heavy drumming, reminiscent of Bow Wow Wow or Adam & the Ants with its tribal sounds, is hypnotizing. The horns blast out of the background with such ferocity that they snap the listener out of any comfortable slumber. And the vocals that eventually erupt into moans and screams sound completely in-sync with the instruments.
But a lot more ground could be covered. Just as the band hits its stride, the song abruptly ends.
"Blueface Arizona," on the other hand, has more space to operate at around four minutes, and it throws in some sleigh bells and heavily psychedelic guitars. This extra time allows the musicians to find a comfort zone that some of the shorter tracks never seem to.
Still, brevity is not the main drawback to We're Not Talking ... ; it's the vocals that litter the sonic landscape carefully carved out by the instruments. Jamie Toal is an adept singer, and the lyrics are simple but thoughtful, yet the vocals often seem strangely askew.
Either too loud, as if the levels were pushed up, or given effects such as reverb and distortion that clash with the music, the end result is a contrast between sounds and styles that is often unsettling.
"Hazy" is a glaring example of the disconnect between the vocals and instruments. As its title suggests, "Hazy" is a mild-mannered number, with lazy guitar lines, rolling drum beats, and the familiar sound of a Wurlitzer digital piano. The vocals sound out of place, though, as if taken from a Pavement song, edgy and in-your-face, never hazy or obscured.
This is the heart of the issue: The vocals often sound as if they belong on a lo-fi indie-rock record, not an experimental or psychedelic rock album.
This might be the effect Tenki sought, but a track such as "Gestures" - on which the vocals mesh with the mix - makes that hard to believe. Soft, with just the right amount of reverb, on "Gestures" the vocals melt into the music and showcase nuances. As a track such as this shows, it's fine for the vocals to serve as a "backing band" to the instruments.
On "The Shy Retirer," a cover of an Arab Strap song, the vocals dominate what is an otherwise catchy tune. The singing itself is a bit too syncopated and forces the drummer to sound more like a machine tapping out a beat than an organic counterpart to the vocalist.
The music is important and interesting enough to be given center stage with this sextet. On "Watersprung Dam," a waltzy number, horns softly lull the listener and pop up throughout the song in the most surprising of places. Warbly guitars flutter along, and just the hint of a second guitar melody skitters into the foreground.
Tracks such as "Gestures," "Do You Think ... ," and "Blueface Arizona" show what Tenki can do when it gives itself ample time to explore its musical territory and puts less emphasis on the vocals. There are certainly enough interesting ideas and enough talent to carry this album past the 45-minute mark, and the songs work best when Tenki allow the music to guide the singing, rather than the other way around.
Tenki will play at RIBCO on Saturday, April 21. Chrash and Uno Champions of the World will open. The show starts at 11 p.m.
Culley Smith is a music writer and runs a local blog: (http://www.theairstrange.com).
