Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Valentina Magaletti, one of Vanishing Twin’s principal songwriters, has a reputation for being a drum menace, attacking her kit from all sides with playful ferocity. And while she maintains a colorful approach to rhythm on the London band’s second album, Ookii Gekkou, her direction is solidly linear. Where her solo pieces are often based on emotion and excitement, the band’s songs are so solidly written you could build skyscrapers on their foundation. Ookii Gekkou, a psychedelic pop gem, begins with Magaletti romancing the snare like a jazz drummer pounding out the backbeat from now until eternity. Bassist Susumu Mukai, also known as electronic music producer Zongamin, joins her in rhythmic timekeeping, giving Cathy Lucas’s summery voice ample room to soar. Keyboard noodles and what sounds like a toy xylophone occasionally skitter across the song, giving the whole affair an Alice in Wonderland feel. It’s delightful paired with a simple cup of tea or for a trip to the other side of the mirror.
There’s something very ’60s and very British about the album; picture them strutting down Abbey Road in fluorescent clothes, clean-shaven. “Light Vessel” kicks the wah-wah up to 11 and the Auto-Tune is dialed into robot mode. The comically named “Tub Erupt” is jittery music made for a moonshot. To be clear, as funkily far out as it often sounds, Ooki Gekkou is a rock record from a rock band. But one that has appears to stay within a sound’s structures simply to see how far they can push them.
