tAngerinecAt – Glass (2022)
by Flork
Late one night, I stumbled upon this group purely by accident. I was either looking for a cat video on YouTube or maybe a Tangerine Dream clip or something citrus, in any case, it was serendipitous that I landed on this Wales-based duo with their dark and ambient sounds full of creaky doors and droning backgrounds (like a John Carpenter movie). The song that I landed on in particular was called Ask Owl, the opening track to TangerinecaT’s latest album Glass (released in April, 2022). And, in addition to the ominous 2-note drone one can hear throughout Ask Owl (sometimes more notes can be heard on other tracks, and this sound is made from a Western-Ukrainian instrument called a duda, something like a Scottish bagpipe), listeners will also notice the sounds of shattered glass, like footsteps on a concrete floor crunching on a broken bottle or vase. I should also note that the album centres around the theme of broken glass on a stone floor after the band recorded Something Broke Inside (which is, by the way, one of the coolest tracks on this album).
If you read the description of the album on the bandcamp website, you will learn that the songs are all part of a larger story about a man named Eugene and his struggles to survive in the world (poverty, mental health, violence, etc.). He comes from Ukraine and is a survivor of the Chornobyl disaster. And, from what I can gather, he’s ended up in several dark places. Moreover, in addition to the eerie sounds of Ask Owl, where the out-of-tune fiddle paints a picture of a barren forest on a haunted night, conjuring images of bare branches of trees swaying and sending shivers up your spine, listeners are told an insightful yet haunting story of one man’s personal journey to the depths of hell and back.
Each track seizes my attention, especially the different vocal harmonisations used. On the second track Anti-Lullaby, Zhenia Purpurovsky and Runa de Luna (Runa composed this track and is a guest on this album) unite to create a dark, dark energy that sets the tone for the rest of the album (Paul Chilton, the other member of TangerinecaT, sings on this track as well). Yet despite the chilling darkness, there is an apparent element of beauty that listeners will also perceive. The music is much more than avant-garde or experimental, it is also well-rehearsed and crafted, creating an atmosphere of ghoulish ambience with the sounds of the duda and broken glass present in each track. This is evident in Mass of the Black Cats and Molfar (which is partially sung in Zhenia’s native Ukrainian). The latter track introduces the creaky violin once again, yet the beat of this song is also lively at moments. My two favourites on Glass are Hereafter (a beautiful instrumental) and Something Broke Inside (the harmonies are epic here… And screaming one more time), which is a magnificent tune that incorporates the full beauty of the group’s sound with Eugene’s difficult journey and eventual healing (yes, the whole album is amazingly beautiful, TangerinecaT create colossal beauty out of darkness). I love the power in this track, especially the sounds of the duda (or is it a violin?), so full of bleakness and dark, death energy, but performed ironically with a beat. The album ends perfectly with Spell, both Paul and Zhenia (especially Zhenia) sending hope to the listener in their beautiful vocals.
And so, my inability to type an understandable command into the YouTube search bar was providential. Glass is truly a treasure chest of original compositions and sounds I have never heard before, and I am going to keep this duo within my radar for a long time. If you are an adventurous type, TangerinecaT is worth your attention. Their ability to transform the listener into the world of a desperate and lost individual in a world with similar ailments is a mesmerising experience, one that I myself won’t forget. Glass speaks volumes regarding the current state of the world with its thought-provoking sounds and lyrics and should resonate within you for a long time afterwards after listening to it.
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