{"id":55763,"date":"2021-10-31T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2021-10-31T21:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=records&p=55763"},"modified":"2021-10-31T17:45:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-31T21:45:27","slug":"vanishing-twin-ookii-gekkou","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/vanishing-twin-ookii-gekkou\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s basically impossible to describe London-based quartet Vanishing Twin without a mention of Stereolab, the studio-bound retrofuturists of the 1990s indie-rock wave, so let\u2019s give a listen to \u201cZuum\u201d and \u201cLight Vessel\u201d and be done with the matter. Let\u2019s move on instead to all the other delicious ingredients that constitute the band\u2019s excellent second album, Ookii Gekkou<\/em>. Before it concludes, the record touches on low-gravity tropical space disco (\u201cPhase One Million\u201d), elegant, Ellingtonian exotica (\u201cIn Cucina\u201d), the murky, atmospheric spoken word episode \u201cThe Organism\u201d, the celestial harmonies of \u201cWider Than Itself\u201d and closer \u201cThe Lift\u201d\u2014and yet further fascinating ornaments not mentioned here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the helm of Vanishing Twin is the farsighted multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, also of chamber-pop unit Fanfarlo and more, and it\u2019s to her credit as captain of the ship that something so multifarious should also be satisfyingly cohesive. She\u2019s chosen her crew judiciously, accompanied as she is by exploratory drummer Valentina Magaletti, whose extensive resume includes participation in Tomaga, CZN, and Moin, as well as Phil MFU, aka Man From Uranus, a master of modular synth strangeness, and bassist Susumu Mukai, whose discography under the moniker Zongamin merits great attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside Stereolab, one might also care to mention hellacious hybridizers The Heliocentrics as a reference point, given the mashing-up of weird jazz, leftfield funk, elevated kitsch and appealingly mysterious soundscapes. It\u2019s fair game to do so, as Heliocentric centerpiece Malcolm Catto co-produced Ookii Gekkou<\/em>. A final word must go to the unusually refined lyric-writing on display here. To be clear, the wise words of \u201cWider Than Itself\u201d are those of the poet Chaucer, but the rest are indicative of the care and thoughtfulness Lucas and company invest in that aspect of their songcraft. That almost every second phrase concludes with a question mark is in keeping with the insatiable curiosity that clearly propels the auditory adventures of Vanishing Twin.
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