19.3.11

town of verdure



Last week was so 'musical' that City Hall's Esplanade Theatre had felt like a true second home for me. I indulged myself in three shows; Joanna Newsom the harp girl and The Trees and The Wild--which was listed on TIME's 'Five New Bands to Watch' last year. Oh and you read it right--three shows-- because I came twice last week to watch The Trees and The Wild perform in Singapore, for both acoustic and full sets.

Their music has matured in a sense that, they now have a better idea of what kind of music they really want to play, in which they get themselves immersed passionately. I remember last year they played 'Fight The Future'; which is of course a good song, very singalong-able, except that it is not so ttatw-ish... It is one generic breezy song that flows at a comfortable pace, but the important element of ttatw songs (ie neat build-up) is missing.



So they didn't play that song this time. Instead, they played their 'classics' such as Irish Girl, Berlin and Malino. There was also one new song (temporarily titled 'Saija') that possesses a 'newly refined' ttatw flavour--because not only does it build up alluringly, it also crumbles in the middle and takes an interesting turn from there. This indeed is a very fresh, promising start for their next musical endeavour.

In case you haven't had the vaguest idea of what I mean by 'very ttatw-ish', the keyword here is diversity. Perhaps we could trace their music back to the band members' musical taste, which stretches from Fleet Foxes to Aphex Twin, from Sigur Rós to Karawitan music, from Nick Drake to The Strokes....from folk, post rock, to traditional Indonesian music; they incorporate all these elements into their sound. The result? Oh you dare tell me.



Their full set had much more power this year--their songs had clearly been improvised, their guitar riffs sharpened, their drums thumping louder than ever. On the other hand, their acoustic set was my very first experience, but I'd say I still prefer their full set. It's not that the acoustic set was inferior compared to the full set, but we are talking about different energy levels here. I guess it kind of depends on your preferences, if you're looking for a more intimate session, the acoustic set will be the answer.

In conclusion, I'd have to agree with what Iga said: "this band has two personalities." And I love both just fine.





The next day I had the 'honour' of 'voluntarily' sending this bunch of talented people off back to my hometown, Jakarta. The idea didn't cross my mind before, but since I was still on my holiday and it'd be long before their next performance here, I guess it's ok to spend more time with them. It was so nice to converse and exchange some insights with these fine lads, albeit in a very short span.

So in case you didn't know yet:
1) Honeymoon on Ice (which is imo one of the most *cough* romantic *cough* songs ever written) was really 'based' on the movie Eternal Sunshine of The Spotted Mind. Like me, you might have suspected this fact long before.
2) They have started planning for their second album. Andra roughly figured it would be finished by the end of this year, whereas Remedy estimated it would be due out next year.

Well, they can take all the time needed, because it's been one year and I still can go on listening to their first album Rasuk, forever on repeat.



I know...aren't I the creepiest groupee ever.

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