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Bulldog · 04-04-2011, 12:06 AM

Bitter:Sweet
The Mating Game
2006

genre: trip-hop,downtempo,nu jazz
1. Don't Forget To Breathe - 3:14
2. The Mating Game - 3:24
3. Overdue - 3:34
4. Heaven - 3:48
5. Bittersweet Faith - 4:19
6. Moving Forward - 3:36
7. Moody - 2:39
8. Dirty Laundry - 3:20
9. Our Remains - 3:34
10. Salty Air - 3:02
11. Take 2 Blue - 2:40

Usually, I like to think of something vaguely personal to relate to an album I choose to prattle on about for however long in this thread - whatever anyone reading it may think, it's definitely got a funny old way of making things a bit more interesting from this end of the equation. Otherwise it boils down to something like, I dunno;

x = 2 good songs + 5 mediocre songs - 4 piles of crap
x = alright, I guess

And that'd end up being just as dull to me as it is to you, if not more so. Therein lies my problem with announcing that I'd be talking about this one in this thread - as Bitter:Sweet are an artist I don't know a lot about and haven't been listening to for that long, there's not really much of a personal spin I can put on things. Still, I guess I'll do this thing anyway. Might end up being a shorter album post than usual though.

Anyway, about these guys...all I've really been able to gather about them are a couple of names behind the moniker, the fact that they're from LA, some RYM genre tags and my kinda liking this album. Bitter:Sweet is basically the name of a Thievery Corporation-esque dynamic duo of modern trip-hop and downtempo electronica. Again, it's two figures behind every instrument and a very slick production sound, in this case being the ultra-cool uncle you never had by the name of Kiran Shahani, and the steamy redhead chick on vocals by the name of Shana Halligan.

So, yes, it's another rag-tag bunch who peddle a downtempo vibe and are fronted by the soft, breathy vocals of a pretty hot vocalist. I've already compared them to Thievery Corporation and, really, there is more than a slight echo of the sublime work of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton over both the albums that Bitter:Sweet have been responsible for (this being the debut). Same cool, laid-back beats and atmospherics with a touch of neo-psychedlia about them, same night-listening 101 stuff.

Now, I hope you're ready for a bit of a curve-ball, because I've my arm raised and I'm poised to throw one right atchya. This album is far from being the bland, unoriginal tripe that the paragraph above this one in particular might have led you to believe. Yes, you can hear a lot of the work of other artists in this album and their next and yes, it lacks the quirky originality of someone like Lamb. But seriously though, are we gonna start counting a lack of originality against artists now, because if we are I'm gonna have to delete about three quarters of all the music I've ever heard, go have a shower and spend hours washing the unclean off me. I don't ask for ball-breaking originality from the music I listen to really - as long as there's some element to the music that keeps me hooked, some sense of character that makes an artist stand out from the crowd in its own unique way.

And as for that sense of character, I didn't add that nu jazz tag to the genre disclaimer for no reason. While it's true that it's a breezy, effortlessly cool and calm vibe that flows through most this record, a) that's not really such a bad thing and b) it's not the whole picture either. Despite the overall mood of the album, there's a very nicely-implemented jazzy swing that pervades other sections of it, particularly on the title track, what with that samba-like burst of colour that certainly seems to come out of it for me.

Also, I don't know if you noticed, but this album is sexy as hell. Another artist this album sounds like something of an echo of is Mike Patton's Lovage project, which is just fine by me as I've been looking for quite a while for similar-sounding music to it. In fact, I think I've found a good way to sum this one up - imagine Lovage crossed over with Thievery Corporation, only minus the dub reggae vibes of the latter. That's what you've got here.

As a work of trip-hop/downtempo then, it's far from bland and actually pretty damn catchy in places. Never does this album stray below the bar set for it by its influences, and it's even home to one of my new favourite songs in the shape of the opening track Don't Forget To Breathe. It flows perfectly well from beginning to end, with not a single note out of place, but on the other hand it's a bit too short really. I'd definitely recommend this to any trip-hop acolytes on the boards, not to mention their good-but-not-quite-as-good-as-this followup album. I'd give you the low-down of which tracks are better than others, but I guess I'll leave that bit to you

Here's what I think of it;

04-04-2011, 12:06 AM	#56 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Bitter:Sweet The Mating Game 2006 genre: trip-hop,downtempo,nu jazz 1. Don't Forget To Breathe - 3:14 2. The Mating Game - 3:24 3. Overdue - 3:34 4. Heaven - 3:48 5. Bittersweet Faith - 4:19 6. Moving Forward - 3:36 7. Moody - 2:39 8. Dirty Laundry - 3:20 9. Our Remains - 3:34 10. Salty Air - 3:02 11. Take 2 Blue - 2:40 Usually, I like to think of something vaguely personal to relate to an album I choose to prattle on about for however long in this thread - whatever anyone reading it may think, it's definitely got a funny old way of making things a bit more interesting from this end of the equation. Otherwise it boils down to something like, I dunno; x = 2 good songs + 5 mediocre songs - 4 piles of crap x = alright, I guess And that'd end up being just as dull to me as it is to you, if not more so. Therein lies my problem with announcing that I'd be talking about this one in this thread - as Bitter:Sweet are an artist I don't know a lot about and haven't been listening to for that long, there's not really much of a personal spin I can put on things. Still, I guess I'll do this thing anyway. Might end up being a shorter album post than usual though. Anyway, about these guys...all I've really been able to gather about them are a couple of names behind the moniker, the fact that they're from LA, some RYM genre tags and my kinda liking this album. Bitter:Sweet is basically the name of a Thievery Corporation-esque dynamic duo of modern trip-hop and downtempo electronica. Again, it's two figures behind every instrument and a very slick production sound, in this case being the ultra-cool uncle you never had by the name of Kiran Shahani, and the steamy redhead chick on vocals by the name of Shana Halligan. So, yes, it's another rag-tag bunch who peddle a downtempo vibe and are fronted by the soft, breathy vocals of a pretty hot vocalist. I've already compared them to Thievery Corporation and, really, there is more than a slight echo of the sublime work of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton over both the albums that Bitter:Sweet have been responsible for (this being the debut). Same cool, laid-back beats and atmospherics with a touch of neo-psychedlia about them, same night-listening 101 stuff. Now, I hope you're ready for a bit of a curve-ball, because I've my arm raised and I'm poised to throw one right atchya. This album is far from being the bland, unoriginal tripe that the paragraph above this one in particular might have led you to believe. Yes, you can hear a lot of the work of other artists in this album and their next and yes, it lacks the quirky originality of someone like Lamb. But seriously though, are we gonna start counting a lack of originality against artists now, because if we are I'm gonna have to delete about three quarters of all the music I've ever heard, go have a shower and spend hours washing the unclean off me. I don't ask for ball-breaking originality from the music I listen to really - as long as there's some element to the music that keeps me hooked, some sense of character that makes an artist stand out from the crowd in its own unique way. And as for that sense of character, I didn't add that nu jazz tag to the genre disclaimer for no reason. While it's true that it's a breezy, effortlessly cool and calm vibe that flows through most this record, a) that's not really such a bad thing and b) it's not the whole picture either. Despite the overall mood of the album, there's a very nicely-implemented jazzy swing that pervades other sections of it, particularly on the title track, what with that samba-like burst of colour that certainly seems to come out of it for me. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but this album is sexy as hell. Another artist this album sounds like something of an echo of is Mike Patton's Lovage project, which is just fine by me as I've been looking for quite a while for similar-sounding music to it. In fact, I think I've found a good way to sum this one up - imagine Lovage crossed over with Thievery Corporation, only minus the dub reggae vibes of the latter. That's what you've got here. As a work of trip-hop/downtempo then, it's far from bland and actually pretty damn catchy in places. Never does this album stray below the bar set for it by its influences, and it's even home to one of my new favourite songs in the shape of the opening track Don't Forget To Breathe. It flows perfectly well from beginning to end, with not a single note out of place, but on the other hand it's a bit too short really. I'd definitely recommend this to any trip-hop acolytes on the boards, not to mention their good-but-not-quite-as-good-as-this followup album. I'd give you the low-down of which tracks are better than others, but I guess I'll leave that bit to you Here's what I think of it; Last edited by Bulldog; 04-06-2011 at 04:43 PM.