Based on my last entry and review, you might be asking, “Why the hell did you buy a compilation album that you knew you’d probably have no interest in, and then subsequently bash some of the entries from the artist you had bought the CD for to begin with?”
Fair enough, but let’s get to what I do like about Tritonal, other than having a cool, signed album by them. Before their 2011 album
Piercing the Quiet, Tritonal released a slew of singles that appeared on various compilation albums or that were released as digital downloads. These singles are noted on Tritonal’s Wikipedia page, found
here. In March 2013, they released a three-song EP titled
Metamorphic I, with “Bullet That Saved Me” being the notable track.
"Bullet That Saved Me" would later receive a festival-friendly remix, and I prefer that mix over the original. Later in November, Tritonal released another three-song EP titled
Metamorphic II, with the piercing-vocal track “Now Or Never” and the energetic
“Electric Glow” being the main attractions, both of which are progressive house tracks.
"Now Or Never" was my first exposure to Tritonal:
Tritonal (ft. Phoebe Ryan) – “Now Or Never”
This one is geared more toward a festival sound, although I think it’s also suitable for everyday listening. The song is definitely about sex, and more specifically here--a one-night stand. But a meaningful one-night stand?
“I’d rather have one night, than nothing forever” are just some of the lyrics. I guess if one wanted, one could find some sort of metaphorical and/or philosophically deep meaning in lyrics like that; about being more care-free and taking opportunities when they present themselves, not just with sex. However, I think that would be stretching things and making things up at that point, rather than what the obvious, true intentions of the song are. Lyrics aside, the beat itself is above average, energetic, and it gives off a positive vibe, although it’s Phoebe Ryan’s vocals that are the main draw.
I do like “Bullet That Saved Me” and “Now Or Never,” although I will note two other songs I like more from Tritonal’s earlier work.
Tritonal (ft. Christina Soto) – “Spellbound” [Original Mix]
Release Year: 2009
Album(s):
Armada Sessions (October 2009);
Markus Schulz Presents: Coldharbour Selections Part 21
“Spellbound” starts off with the vocalist, Christina Soto, humming the notes “Dah dahda dahdada dahdadha…” or whatever it is.
And then the lyrics come in, such as:
Move up, step down
In a gaze, lock eyes
Trying to look away
I’m spellbound
Your hands, my waist
No thoughts, just taste
‘Cause it’s a very sweet sound
(more lyrics follow after this, see song)
As with “Now Or Never,” this song is about letting go of inhibitions and accepting the moment, which is, I guess, part of the purpose of this type of music. This is a trance track, and the beat is one of the more straight-line, repetitive-but-infectious ones that I have in my collection. For this song, it works, and it works well, although it might take a couple listens to come around on this song if you’re not used to such repetition in your music. Overall, it’s very soothing and relaxing, yet driving at the same time. Smooth vocals too.
Tritonal (ft. Bethany) – “Sometimes I Wish” [Extended Mix]
Release Date: April 9, 2012.
Album:
Piercing the Quiet: Extended Mixes
This trance tune is from the
Extended Mix album. This is the version I came across first, and if there's a difference in production technique(s) between this version and the one on the 2011 release, I don't know what it is. I only have so much patience to sift through multiple remixes, and I don't find enough wrong with this version to seek out a different mix.
LYRICS:
Only you took me there,
to the place where I live still,
no one else could see me whole,
but this thing you've built with care has been sold,
(more lyrics follow, see song)
[CHORUS]
sometimes I wish I never met you,
sometimes I wish I never met you,
sometimes I wish I never met you (oh oh oh),
Decent lyrics. The meaning of the song is inferred, but it is left open enough to interpretation, from something as benign as a now-former love interest, to something else. I dig the secondary part of the chorus that goes, “I would have my heart still, I would have my mind still, I would have some peace.” The song is clearly about some sort of heartache that's been caused by the actions of another, and it is reflective of the pivot point where the protagonist is permanently done caring about said person. Additionally, she wishes she had never met this person to begin with, and now that they're no longer involved, she can return to her inner peace. The beat has enough variation while still being ambient and driving, which, as should be well-established at this venture in the journal, is basically my favorite type of sound in all of music...at the moment.
Summing up: I am not one of those genre contrarians who gets upset when a band changes their sound, but I prefer Tritonal’s trance offerings over their progressive house stuff. Also, I have not looked into
Piercing the Quiet more than what’s mentioned here. Sometime in the future I will get this album (instead of only having the singles), but I would want that album in physical form, and right now I don't feel like ponying-up the exaggerated import price in order to get my hands on a real-life copy.