Masahiro Takahashi, Symfan, and As We Suffer
Masahiro Takahashi
Flowering Tree, Distant Moon // Not Not Fun Records
While living in isolation at his temporary home studio in Toronto, Japanese multi-instrumentalist Masahiro Takahashi faced “the coldest winter I have ever experienced.” He used this experience and nostalgia he felt for home as inspiration to create his latest album, Flowering Tree, Distant Moon, released April 30, 2021 through Not Not Fun Records.
Flowering Tree, Distant Moon is an album that invokes feelings of longing for home while exploring a foreign land, displayed through a perspective of optimism and hope. Each song carries high tones that sway and shimmer, forming abstract, surreal tracks that cradle your ears and comfort your mind. The entire album is beat-less, giving the spotlight to the variety of synths and samplers that Masahiro used to construct the album's ten songs.
My favourite song has to be “Touji” which appears at the albums halfway point. It begins leading with a psychedelic lullaby that unravels into a sweeping synthesizer. Each song on the album has several layers that unfold and expand as the song plays out, revealing how the emotions we feel only strengthen overtime before finally being released.
Each song carries a similar tone but uses distinct melodies to differentiate from the others. For example, “Torch Dance”, the album's opening track, uses long mid tones and a memorable, dream-like riff, with electronic chimes and flutes that introduce themselves as the song plays through. However, “Spring Dance”, the song following the first, uses a quick climbing synth with a lower pitch that climbs beside it before having several static sounds begin to peek through the background.
Listen - I’ve never travelled much in my life. I’ve yet to visit another country, or even Eastern Canada. I don’t know the feeling of being in another land, especially one separating your homeland by an ocean. I appreciate Masahiro for using his experiences and his skill with a MIDI controller to convey a frame of mind that I have yet to discover for myself. He’s crafted a great album with Flowering Tree, Distant Moon and it’s one that I can’t wait to listen to again. It’s a great addition to the collection of the people who enjoy the abstract and experimental.
- Brandon Kruze
Symfan
Sour Honey // Self Released
After a couple of years of waiting, Edmonton-based bedroom pop star Symfan returns with the sudden release of Sour Honey on April 17, 2021. It had been two years since the release of her third album Circadian Workout (2018), but since then Hannah Haderlein continued to develop her production and songwriting in close collaboration with the records’ audio-engineer Joshua Bookhalter. This record is informed by the sounds of A.G. Cook’s record label PC Music and the broad scope of hyperpop, which gives Symfan’s approach to bedroom pop and synth pop production a different tone than prior work by the artist - the collaboration between Haderlein and Bookhalter showcases an intentional approach to mixing and production that make this album more than just bedroom pop.
The title track “Sour Honey” introduces all of these elements in intentional production and mixing right from the start, with Symfan’s vocals cutting through the mixing with subtle auto-tune and harmonic vocaloids to match the instrumental body of this track. This track builds up to a soul-crushing chorus from whence Symfan breaks into hard-hitting vocal deliveries in a Charli XCX fashion. That attention to vocal work throughout the mix really comes across the whole record, like in the intro vocals for “Unfixable,” the angsty delivery in “Luv @ the End,” the glamorous vocal approach of “Cross My Heart,” or throughout the hook and ad libs of “Rebound.” Among the biggest earworms from this record, I would put together “Sour Honey,” “Rebound,” “Gamer Gurl,” the album’s single “In My Room,” and the absolute unit of a finisher in “Where I Was Going With That…” which captures a Hannah Diamond crystalline pop sound. The production and mixing across these different tracks help take Synfam in many different directions of pop sounds, where a new edge in pop is hit by the artist as much as bedroom pop and synth pop remain at the core of her sound.
As a whole, Sour Honey takes Symfan’s music to an intentional exploration of sounds in pop that take risks beyond what her prior musical work had established. It is clear that PC Music and hyperpop were a major source of inspiration, but this is mostly enhancing what Symfan had already been doing in her work rather than it being just derivative. The risks taken by the artist really pay off in this album, and her close collaboration with Bookhalter is something to be praised for the result it has yielded. Synfam’s Sour Honey is one of the hyperpop informed albums to look out for in Canada this year, as it maintains an integrity to prior work by a well-established artist while introducing herself again in a new form.
- Simone A. Medina Polo
As We Suffer
The Fallen Pillars // Self Released
Ontario's As We Suffer may have got their beginnings as a skate punk cover band, but the band possesses great songwriting talents, and they prove that with their first full length album, The Fallen Pillars. Many bands only have one or two people in charge of writing the material, but all of As We Suffer's members take turns as the primary writer for the songs. This fact makes for a sonically diverse album, with five brilliant minds compiling this impressive piece of art. Their early thrash and punk influences are certainly not lost in the new album, but they have added metalcore, hardcore, straight forward metal, and even some rock n' roll to the mix! The bands chemistry is another factor that boosts their writing abilities, as vocalist Matt Caldwell and bassist Ryan Caldwell are cousins, and they play along with their good friends in guitarists Jason Yocom and Derik Roblin, along with Chris Nunn on drums.
As I said earlier, this album has a diverse track listing, but all eleven songs keep a speedy pace, making it a great record to jam while working out. The Fallen Pillars holds some thrilling moments, drawing comparison to bands from Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, all the way to NOFX! Matt's vocals have as wide a range as the rest of the record, going from Power Metal like choruses, to high pitch screams, to low growls, and much more. Even the heavier vocals on the record are still quite accessible for people who complain that they can’t understand the lyrics in extreme music, while still pleasing the metal fiends who itch for evil shrieks and monstrous howls. The Fallen Pilllars is a concept album, with each song telling a story of rebellion and civil unrest, calling the listener to question the things they know as truths.
I would love to touch on every song, but to make it short and sweet, I’ll talk about my favorite four. The first big highlight for me comes in at track two, “Malicious Compliance.” The song starts off with a massive scream, calling for the sweet chugging metalcore riffs to come play, and it only gets better from there, with speedy drums, and a great sing along chorus. The song is about the violent, crooked path that our world is headed in, and how hopeless it can feel. The next personal highlight for me is song four, “Fucking Relentless,” and the title is incredibly fitting. This one is a great example of As We Suffer keeping with their thrashy punk sound, and still adding in a healthy dose of heavy metal. This one is about having a take no prisoners attitude when it comes to achieving your goals, and the victorious vibes are displayed throughout the whole track, especially during the epic guitar solo! “High Tide" calls for its listeners to stop being complacent in this corrupt world, and to stand up to their oppressors. This is one of the most metal sounding tracks on the album, from the instrumentals to Matt's impressive screams that could be compared to that of the Metal God Randy Blythe! Lastly is the big finale in the form of the title track, “The Fallen Pillars". Starting off with a slow acoustic piece, it quickly dives right back into powerful vocals and music that makes you want to move. This song carries the same themes as “High Tide" pointing out that so many people talk about change for the better, but are unwilling to be the change themselves.
As We Suffer have created a unique sound for themselves that is so complete, and yet there is always room to build upon it for the next release! This is a band that you'll want to pay attention to, to see what they have up their sleeves next, and to scream their lyrics right back at them in a live setting!
- Justin Olson
