Atsuko Chiba – Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing

Atsuko Chiba is a psychiatrist who treats the mental illnesses of her patients by entering their dreams and traumas in the Japanese animated film Paprika. In the universe of the Mothland label, Atsuko Chiba doesn’t try to pry into our heads but uses an apparatus of manipulated visuals live during their performances. Since the EP The Memory Empire, the band has been bringing to light the dark and hidden parts of society, to lift an unspoken and share its sensitivity to a certain distress of our time.

Atsuko Chiba multiplies the experimentations and returns for this album with a more orchestral sound (with the performance of the string quartet Quator Esca), which will please fans of The Mars Volta, Beak> and Spirit of the Beehive. Keeping the attitude and cerebral side of the post-rock style, the album denounces the militarization of the language and clearly succeeds in distinguishing itself stylistically from mainstream alternative rock.

Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing reflects the differences and similarities between our environments and our reaction to its moods, as despair steals the light, as dreams slip away from under our feet and the idea of revenge takes hold. If there were an enemy in this fight, it would obviously have already lost. Rather than
hypothetical destruction of a mortal future, “Seeds” takes root in the metamorphosis of the living that grows through the ordeal, as “Link” breaks down the confusions of error by revealing a truth fossilized in a labyrinth. Even if the album is uneven at times, we will appreciate and enjoy seeing the band fully reveal themselves again on stage, on March 10th, for their album launch at the at La Sala Rossa.