This album starts off with “( infirma terrae )”, and right off the bat, it’s obvious that this is one hell of a cleaned up sound. They aren’t screwing around with sound or anything close. Here, Gang Gang Dance have created a genuinely perplexing and far out atmosphere. The heavily drenched vocals work nicely and the atmosphere is dense. It’s not much, but it certainly has me on my toes for what’s to come. But then this album really starts to open up nicely with “J-TREE”, which is honestly one of the most accessible and listener-friendly tracks the band has ever touched. Vocalist Lizzi Bougatsos does come off a little like Grimes here. But between her very airy vocals and the very vast atmosphere of this one, I can’t help but be really enchanted with this. It has this very adventurous sound, and when the pulsing instrumentals come in this just gets bigger and better. Then we have that very spiritual feel which has always sort of stuck around the music of Gang Gang Dance. And here, it’s no different. There’s still that huge world music influence as well, which has never come off this soothing. Overall, I’m all for this as an intro to the music of the album, there are some genuinely great ideas. But the absolute gigantic leap in quality is the star. Like, the fact that these are the same wild experimentalists we met years ago is absolutely nuts. And while that vocal clip is a little bizarre and preachy towards the end, this is an awesome tune. The very pristine, breezy feel to this album rolls on with “Lotus”. There’s a very calming vibe to this one, with almost some ambient moments thrown in that go over really well. But there’s also enough organic instrumentation here to make this pretty accessible. Then we have Lizzi’s vocals which I can never remember being so enigmatic and truly haunting. Even in the sweetest moments, like that very charming and sweet chorus, this one has a very ethereal quality. But at the same time, there’s enough Pop influence to “Lotus” that makes it really stick with you. Now, a whole lot of this album is made up of these very eclectic, hard to place and genuinely “out there” interludes. Which really aren’t terrible, but also sometimes sound lost. “( birth canal )” for existence, takes us back to the early days of Gang Gang Dance when they were a part of that New Weird America period. And, it’s a solid interlude and all. But I’m missing the point of having so many interludes, they take up so much of the album. Isn’t there something else you could be doing? Like, giving us another song or two after like 7 years.
This album continues on with its title track “Kazuashita”. It remains in the very cosmic, hard to place Electronic section. While these interludes so far haven’t blown me away completely, I have to say they capture the very weird and hard to place tones of this album. But, I have to say, this one brings in a tremendous sense of longing the likes I’ve never heard from Gang Gang Dance. There’s this very human sense to this that’s been missing the last tracks or so. But this is where the album also starts to slip a little. This track has this unbearably boring and monotonous speech that goes throughout, and it just adds absolutely nothing. Eventually, it does open up a little into another very playful Electronic tune bringing in elements of numerous genres from around the world. And the very lush production helps wonderfully and actually creates some legitimately wild moments. Also, when Lizzi does show her face here they seem like they were ripped directly out of some very epic Anime series, which somehow makes this even more adventurous. I continue to love how genuinely cinematic this album is, and how a whole lot of the material here is just so vast. “Young Boy (Marika in Amerika)” has almost a throwback feel with some very 80’s synths. But that’s not all, we have some almost Hip-Hop elements thrown in too, as well as some really slick grooves. And on top of all of that, Lizzi’s vocals here are drenched in effects. But with everything around her just as experimental and out there, it honestly really works nicely. This may just be the first time in a long time that I’ve wanted to groove to a Gang Gang Dance album. But hey, if it meant more tracks like this, bring it on. But it’s with tracks like “Snake Dub” that it becomes obvious that Gang Gang Dance still have a long way to go. First off, this is a strange tune even for me, and I love bands that get as experimental as possible. But after how genuinely accessible this album has been so far, this just seems out of place. The beat is totally fine and all, and Gang Gang Dance still come up with one hell of an atmosphere. But “Snake Dub” to me just comes off as way too much of a collage, and most of it is sadly just sort of obnoxious. Then we have “Too Much, Too Soon”, and guys, what happened to just how majestic and cinematic this album started off as? The thing is, I’m fine with the Gang Gang Dance experimental sound. But this track is wildly different from where we started. Sure, there are some really great synths and a vast atmosphere deep down. But you have to go through so much muck just to get there. Eventually, once again, it does open up nicely. But the sluggish nature of this one is massively depressing and doesn’t sound nearly as adventurous as where we started.
But like I said earlier, the band is clearly on to something. I actually think the very laid back and refined “( novae terrae )” is really charming. It’s not exactly some mind-blowing track, and it is a little preachy. But with just how synth-heavy it is and just how cool of an atmosphere it has, it works. Then we have our finale here, “Salve On The Sorrow”. And let me just ask, where the hell has this sound been? In a way, this almost reminds me of the very sophisticated sounds of Roxy Music’s “Avalon” album. I love the booming drums and the vast synths. And these are easily, EASILY Lizzi’s most sweet and likable vocals yet. This one is just a really classy Pop tune, and I don’t have a clue where this sound has been. It still certainly has a little bit of a left-field edge to it with the wonky production and endless instrumentals. But “Salve On The Sorrow” is a damn cool, refreshing Pop sound that artists aren’t really working with right now.
Rating: 7.6/10
Give A Listen To: "J-TREE", "Lotus", "Young Boy (Marika in Amerika)”, “Salve On The Sorrow”
Least Favorite Track: "Snake Dub"
Genre: Neo-Psychedelia / Experimental
Overall Thoughts: Gang Gang Dance return for the first time in quite some time with their most accessible album yet. Between the very retro synths and often very cinematic feel to it all, this is a pretty adventurous album. At the same time, Gang Gang Dance are more often than not, writing honest to God Pop songs with their classic Experimental twist. And it’s actually not bad of an album at all. But some of these interludes that take up the majority of this album are questionable, and some of the tracks in the second half show the band struggling to continue to sound so vast. Still though, Gang Gang Dance are on to something.
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