11 February 2006

RF - Views Of Distant Towns - Plop - CD












There comes a time when every label wants to expand itself... exceed its original programming if you will. Tokyo's Plop imprint has been releasing wonderful Electronica for the past few years to critical acclaim and they've released everything from minimalistic, dubbed-out sounds to a much more organic, guitar based style via sweet toybox music. Now, it's time for a new sound and something of a departure as Plop unveil their latest release... RF's 'Views Of Distant Towns'.

I've always had a slightly skeptical view of electronic Pop music as I feel that generally it's a compromise too far. This album, however, has completely reinvigorated my idea of just how superb the blend of songs, accessible music and electronics can be.

RF is San Francisco's Ryan Francesconi, a multi-instrumentalist and media artist and with this album he's constructed one of the warmest and most likeable albums you're likely to hear this year. Using guitars, horns, strings, live drums and a subtle palette of electronics he delivers an intricate and beautifully arranged series of songs from the heart.

Melancholy seems to be the overriding influence - whether it's in the soaring strings or Sunday afternoon trumpet sounds - and he openly references Haruki Murakami's wonderful 'Wind-up Bird Chronicle' as a source of inspiration, particularly regarding the loneliness and stasis that lead character Toru feels in certain passages of the book (and as an aside, if you haven't read it, you really should as it's magnificent).

The feeling of watching the world passing by is incredibly strong and, for me at least, his use of electronic sounds embedded in the songs really emphasises that... on one hand you have recognisable song structures and tunes, yet lurking in the background is a deep layer of glitch and abstractness which takes a while to come to the surface. Once you lock into it though the whole album takes on a different feeling... still atmospheric but possibly even more melacholic.

Ryan's use of vocals is inspired. Not only does he use them to convey a tangible idea through the lyrics, he also uses them as an instrument in themsleves... breathy, sultry female vocals that sit just a little bit back in the mix and add another layer of intrigue. There are quite a few Japanese vocals as well and yet it doesn't feel impenetrable... you almost understand what's being said on a subconscious level.

To give reference points for this album would be tough. You could say Post-Rock in general, because of some of the structures, and yet I think a more pertinent comparison would be Sweden's Tape as the combination of organic and electronic is in a similar ballpark, albeit with it's own sound. Combine that with Fenton's guitar manipulations, Keiichi Sugimoto's work and the vocals of Piana, and you've got a fair idea of how this sits in the grand scheme of things.

The real beauty of this album is the sheer depth. You'll keep on coming back to it and discovering new and very pleasureable highlights time after time. I would suggest that you'll be listening to this all year.

Simply gorgeous.

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