Hi, everyone. Ivan's on this one. Send music shit to [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.
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| photos courtesy of terraplana. |
Returning finally with their sophomore release, terraplana present natural--a development of their refined songwriting with new psychedelia and bright direction.
salto no escuro lulls you in with attackless, shapeless swells before deep, primordial fifths on the bass set the stage. Cassiano Kruchelski introduces a shimmering, chorused-out guitar that sounds aquatic, but also like the spectral energy of a psilocybin mushroom as he begins to arpeggiate, crafting a dreamlike atmosphere. Stefani Heczeuk’s vocals begin to chant some kind of melancholy opening as a procession before the rhythm guitars. They flutter open to what feel like forbidden melodies. Stefani’s bass then hammers on notes against Wendeu’s groovy drums. The song collapses back down like an autumn leaf returning to the verse--but this time altered. Now there are nauseating, fuzzed-out guitar lines courtesy of Vinícius Lourenço. It feels like rolling on wet grass under the moonlight while receiving psychedelic messages from the low hum of the earth.
amanhecer begins with a hooky bassline and Wendeu’s drums inspire a head bobbing rhythm before open chords welcome the lead vocal. It’s reminiscent of the slackery decadence of acts like bar italia but with terraplana’s distinct personality. A color wheel of sparse guitars hint at the chorus to come, before a quiet, militant bridge erupts into a chorus that can only be described as celebratory to the spirit. It recedes to a single guitar before the bass and drums return, Vinícius’ hushed vocal melodies clash and intertwine with Stefani’s--in and out of unison until they build together toward a final chorus with only one upward trajectory before it abruptly ends, leaving you wanting more.
charlie starts with an upbeat but introspective verse inspired by acts like Duster and Autolux. A pristine, driven rhythm tone meets a twangy lead-line that dazzles. That’s the keyword with this song, dazzling. An evening piece that breeds this strange ecstasy out of a melancholic place. It’s perfect that the music video paired with this track features the band at a relatively empty carnival, with hazy, warm saturation, before a surreal ferris wheel. The lead lines of the song almost feel like the memory of a party fading from you.
hear a whisper opens with a driving bassline and plucky, muted guitars before Stefani's lo-fi vocals rest over a snappy groove. The track opens up dimensionally to a cavernous space where the distinctive, delicate rasp of Samira Winter’s voice joins, as Cassiano and Vinicius cultivate the mood, with harmonics reverberating against the vocal hook. The movement builds into the chorus once more but this time busier, and noisier. Hushed vocals and a newscast pace seem to overwhelm the senses with this sort of tranquil hysteria, a paradoxical feeling, maybe more like a parody of hysteria? It resolves into a fugitive outro, marked by the collective chant, “what you wanted, nothing left, but all the soul that’s in your breath.”
todo dia is one of the most ambitious tracks on the record, in my opinion, and if I recall correctly, one of the first ones written. It marks this mature shift in terraplana’s artistic direction--where they still are, at their core, a shoegaze band influenced by slowcore, but not necessarily limited by any genre convention. Not that they were previously, but here on this track it really exemplifies their distance from typical shoegaze bands. The track mostly utilizes clean arpeggio lines, and Vinícius’ vocals are quite dry to contrast the oceanic divine feminine vocals from Stefani. The trip-hop influence becomes a newfound revelation as the climax of the song is a shift from acoustic drums to a sudden upheaval of drum machines supporting a monumental melody. As it rises, it is accompanied by beautiful sub-melodies and increasing density as the acoustic drums return in addition to the electronic elements. It’s here where I not only hear the present realization of terraplana’s ultimate sound, but also their future.
desaparecendo features some of the best production elements of the record. It’s on this track I feel it’s finally vital to write about Joo Joo Ashworth’s collaboration with terraplana. Lowpass filter on the bridge pickup in the intro distracts from a gentle and subtle synth pad that rolls in before the song kicks into gear. It’s difficult for me to tell if it’s a vibrato or phaser on the vocals. Thematically, vibrato would make sense on such an opal and aquatic record, and is a genius decision to coincide with the trem-bar rhythm guitar. One can almost miss the delicate pad lines tucked in the background during the vocal hooks that add an additional layer of ambiance that could easily be missed. It’s these subtleties and painstaking details where it’s apparent this record was truly loved and the recording process allowed them to expand and fully realize this material with Joo Joo.
horas iguais is a loungey cut that sort of reminds me of early Pink Floyd with some of the elements of chromaticism in its choruses. Unfortunately ,this is the part of the review where I got drunk and sort of derailed, but the gentle marauding, heartbreak of this record is perfect in an end-stage global capitalist collapse as control of your environment is slipping through your fingers. This track, though, possesses some sort of youthful giddiness--almost like this realization of absurdity and joy.
airbag features one of the hookiest guitar lead lines on the record. Vocal layering pitching into the lead guitar astounds. It’s on this track that the Interpol influence is apparent during the outro. As Stefani darts around the bass, the two guitars rattle off exotic harmonies in lead lines that remind me of something like PDA. Although the track is great and filled with details, I do find it misses some magic that the others possess, something final cherry on top.
S.N.C. immediately rattles off the back of airbag as a sort of retort to the previous tracks inquiry with lullaby-like vocal melodies and swirling guitars that are almost aeronautic. Icy cool flying through the atmosphere. However, it does feel almost like a continuation of airbag and retreads some of the same ideas.
morro azul caps off the record beautifully. It's spurred by a nocturnal arpeggio. The bassline is like a blanket of black sky above the tranquil night. Stefani’s bittersweet vocal melodies. It’s a perfect way to end the record, “eu já nadei e me afoguei no azul.” In english, roughly, “I've already swum and drowned in the blue,” summates the entire record's descent into a sort of Jungian aqua-unconscious.
natural by terraplana is a realization of their artistic vision, finally, and a great collaboration with production direction by Joo Joo Ashworth that fleshed out and facilitated a musical exploration that’s quite difficult these days due to time constraints and tight finances. Which really exemplifies what good production is, patience and cooperation. A good producer doesn’t impart themselves on a record to be heard, but to help realize the artist’s vision. Hopefully there will be many more records to come from terraplana, just as saturated with personality and palpable atmosphere.
8/10
Stream natural.
-Ivan
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