Album Reviews: Tomora, Metric, Julia Cumming

Tomora – Come Closer
Stavanger, Norway/Manchester, England

After a string of great features through The Chemical Brothers, Tom Rowlands has clearly enjoyed his time with Aurora so much that a whole separate record was required. Stretching into more varied and explorative ground than a usual Chemical Brothers record can allow, this has bangers, sonically mesmerizing slow burns and enough mind-altering vocals that the journey will be as much fun as the dancefloor gems. There’s a frantic and frightening pace to “Ring the Alarm,” as you’re sent on a blistering trip of vocal wails and twisted production, stretching both Rowlands’ and Aurora’s abilities to create abrasive tracks that are also intensely infectious. These flip into complimentary and pleasing tones in the swirling vocal hook of “Somewhere Else,” where the duo craft a pop drive for the ages all around Aurora’s voice melody. It’s the mounting pressure within that though that makes this such a triumph as the final call and boom from Aurora makes you want to explode out of your body. As we’re set into the cascading synth waves of “I Drink the Light” you feel like you’re being pulled through the cosmos while the forces of nature themselves call to you amidst all the chaos. It’s a credit to Rowlands and Aurora that they both maintain their footing so well across the evolving sound and pace of the track’s nearly eight minutes, and it always feels like it’s going somewhere fresh and exciting. While the tones of “My Baby” are dazzling, there’s something just fun to how out there and driving “In a Minute” takes this pair’s talents together. All the more impressive is how seamlessly they manage to switch back and forth between the track’s more EDM focused moments, various choral stops and even some pop centres, leaving a track that never lets up but also never loses its way amidst its experimental ambitions.

Metric – Romanticize the Dive
Toronto

Masters of their sonic world, Metric are seemingly taking the sounds they know best and trying to find new gold by taking the writing in new directions instead. While this does mean some explorations are better than others, the punchy singles and overall feeling they bring to the album shows they’ve still got the hunger and the knack to pull things off. “Victim of Luck” sets the record off on a shining start, with the classic sounds bringing the light and their more stomping charge creating an interestingly booming sound for them. There are glowing highs and grinding low-ends to “Time is a Bomb,” mixing the grime of Live It Out with the ethereal keys of Synthetica in the best way possible. While the burning guitars around Emily Haines vocals on “Tremolo” are a fun shift for the band, the track never finds a bigger moment to take that great whispered vocal run into something more. Experimentation in production and a bit of sharp 80s skewering leave “Antigravity” as a fun dive on the album, as they mix in a bit of world building with some truly fiery ramp ups in the choruses.

Julia Cumming – Julia
New York City

For a solo break, Sunflower Bean’s Julia Cumming is making the strong choice in breaking from her psych rock meets Fleetwood Mac-esque sound, by going with a sound that mixes a Steely Dan mix of tones and lounge acts. While this is certainly a bold step away from expectations, the specific genre of vintage pop she leans into means the album is often too relaxed and pastiche-heavy for its own good, and underserves some quality writing that Cumming is doing throughout. The band starts in a smoky, crooner vibe on “My Life,” with Cumming leaning into the schmaltz and over-the-top energy, while bringing more sonic depth than the genre usually leans into. There’s a charge to the explosive pop on “Revel in the Knowledge” that maintains that 70s jazz pop tone, while Cumming builds the track to more than a few whimsical bursts of joy and romance. “Please Let Me Remember This” is bright and hopeful, and injects a surprising amount of banjo and harmony into the mix, though feels a little less distinct or biting. That problem evaporates on the more lyrically potent “Fucking Closure,” that makes an unexpectedly rich melange of a guitar solo with banjo arpeggios, and creates a great sonic wallop to match its heart-wrenching story.

Atsuko Chiba – Atsuko Chiba
Montreal

The moody churn of Atsuko Chiba’s latest album focuses on rhythm and mood first, making for tracks that are focused outside of melody, and trying to heighten everything else to a menacing peak. The burning intensity of the slow groove lets “Retention” simmer and simmer, building subtly until it overpowers you. “Future Ways” makes a more direct and broad charge in its sound, with the bass growling and a sea of neon synths crashing down on you at every turn. “Tar Sands” has a bubbling pattern to its beats, letting the whole track’s brooding tone come off like a stew coming to boil.  Meanwhile, “Torn” is one of the tracks to more readily cut loose on its mounting pressures, letting the riffs explode and rise again, to create an ebb and flow of excitement.

Yaya Bey – Fidelity
Queens, New York City

Taking a simple jazzy, R&B core and finding something unique in the hues, Yaya Bey finds a true power in making the world her music lives in such a fantastical place. With sharp performances all over the place, the soul and character to this music takes it above the stiff competition Bey would face from many of her contemporaries. Though short and to the point, “Me and Mine” has a very pronounced feeling in its synth and guitar combo, giving a full tidal wave of colours to the ears in moments, and giving you a subtle deluge of vocal details to send you into repeat listens for days to pick them apart. There’s such a glossy and fantastical sound all around “Forty Days,” that it’s easy to sink into just those starry tones before you realize how divine the bass and vocal dancing is. It’s truly a treat for the ears. “Slot Machines” sees Bey sinking to the depths of her range letting the sound get a little more minimal and jazzier to focus on a narrative beauty. With a little more ringing and woodwind power in the colours of “Blue,” you can feel the drums skipping along, with Bey finding a confidence amidst such a rich mix of tones to craft a strong story.

For more music reviews from Owen Maxwell, click here.