| Album Reviews | |
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11 June 2006 First Nation (self titled), Paw Tracks 2006 You may or not be familiar with pygmy culture. I, for one, am not. But after thoroughly digesting the New York trio’s self-titled debut First Nation, I feel like I have a better sense of what life would be like in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Personally, I tend to enjoy albums with an intro track. The purpose of this track, for me, is to ease the listener into the style of the album—one could look at it as a nudge over the fence [because we all know the grass is greener on the other side]. In the case of these three gals, the grass is vivid, lush, soft, thick, and razorblade sharp all at the same time. The first two tracks, “Awakes” and “Creation (Exquisite)”, lead us through a dark forest to a meadow where you start to tango with the girls, all whilst playing a flute, guitar, drums and singing various repetitive melodies [and when I say repetitive, I say it in the way that is sure to please]—also known as “Female Trance.” After peaking for the first time, “Monkey” stabilizes your shaky knees with the softly repeated plucking of a guitar, what seems to be random [yet sophistically structured] percussions, and harmonious wailing. “Omen” picks up right where the last track left off. It starts off with that soft, repeated rift and then the girls start to sing in layers. Midst the song, it becomes beautifully structured. This is especially nice when juxtaposed against the somewhat unstructured beginning of the song. “Swells” makes you swell. Immediately it grabs your attention with a noise I associate with terror, and soon satisfies you with a rhythmic melody and drumming that is sure to make you want to dance around a fire. The flute appears again on “Cave Jam,” another song that exemplifies how awesome tribal-chic is. Towards the end of the album, the girls seem to be leaving the raw, freak-folk sound they so beautifully created at the beginning and are embracing beautiful melodies, showcasing their ability to layer their vocals in a most pleasing way. What sounds like a manipulated and processed keyboard sets a backdrop for “You Can Be.” On “Child’s Eyes,” the ladies all come together in repeating choruses to make you say, “Damn, that’s beautiful.” I know I thought it. And finally, “Waterfall,” starts with soft noises and slowly layers humming that makes you feel like you’re rocking back and forth on a canoe. This is where you are sitting around in a circle and holding hands in that grassy meadow. The track slowly fades and the album ends, leaving you with a euphoric, blissful feeling. If any of you want to listen to this album, go to a meadow, dance around a fire, and then sit around that fire and hold hands. Let me know as soon as possible. -Diego Baptista
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