The latest album by Spanish musician Piek, titled Despertar, takes inspiration from artists such as Bonobo, Sigur Ros and Moderat. Yet, while PR for the album mentions that no two tracks from it are wholly similar, but that's not exactly the case.
On the positive side, the album revels in a full, boisterous sound, with an ethereal air that permeates it. For the most part, the track sequencing makes perfect sense, each addition feeding off or complementing the last, like the wonderfully subtle instrumental build on opener "Intense Kiss" that quietly leads into the static-filled first notes of "The Son with the Father's Gun," which quickly drops into bass that thickens the track, pops of synths, and deft vocals from Ria, Ryan Roush and Cheney.
The tracks that differ in sound, though, feel palpably out of place and invasive, whether the tone of the album falters due to a track's musical composition (as on the ballad-like "Avalanche," with its soft vocals courtesy of Lorena Lacar and almost imperceptible bass founded by a few piano chords and sporadic blasts of wasted percussion) or its lyrics (like "Baztan," whose spoken poem pops up at the end of the album and can only be described as trite).
Despertar does stand out in certain instances, but when it misses the mark, it truly overreaches.
(Sincopat)On the positive side, the album revels in a full, boisterous sound, with an ethereal air that permeates it. For the most part, the track sequencing makes perfect sense, each addition feeding off or complementing the last, like the wonderfully subtle instrumental build on opener "Intense Kiss" that quietly leads into the static-filled first notes of "The Son with the Father's Gun," which quickly drops into bass that thickens the track, pops of synths, and deft vocals from Ria, Ryan Roush and Cheney.
The tracks that differ in sound, though, feel palpably out of place and invasive, whether the tone of the album falters due to a track's musical composition (as on the ballad-like "Avalanche," with its soft vocals courtesy of Lorena Lacar and almost imperceptible bass founded by a few piano chords and sporadic blasts of wasted percussion) or its lyrics (like "Baztan," whose spoken poem pops up at the end of the album and can only be described as trite).
Despertar does stand out in certain instances, but when it misses the mark, it truly overreaches.
