Mice Parade – Obrigado Saudade
Wow. Obrigado Saudade is unlike anything I have ever heard. Each song is a dynamic, constantly changing masterpiece leaving the listener trying, but entirely unable, to guess where the song is going. Tracks begin with a few simple sounds, and new instruments and sounds are added in slowly, one or a few at a time. Before you know it, there is so much going on that you are left struggling to comprehend the music; there is just so much going on at once. Everything is blended together perfectly so that nothing really fades into the background; everything is equally prominent in the mix so that you are left trying to listen to a multitude of individual instruments at once. The result at first seems to be utter chaos, particularly in songs like the opening track Two, Three Fall, Mystery Brethren, and Guitars For Plants. But one quickly notices that there is much a more there – an astounding order to the chaos that is simply beautiful. Using nonstandard drum beats, guitar chords that when played alone would probably sound like a young child struggling to grasp rhythm, cascading piano and harp melodies, and much more, the music melds together to create something amazing. The biggest struggle I had when first listening to this album was that I was trying to listen to each track like I do a normal pop or rock song, but I realized that to truly enjoy this album I had to consciously focus on each sound at the same time. It’s music that you have to devote yourself to to understand (bad grammar?). The only thing that sounded strange to me was And Still It Sits In Front Of You, as it didn’t seem to employ the same concept used in the other songs. Don’t give up on this if you don’t like it the first time; you may need several listens to grasp everything. F***ing brilliant.
9/10
Favorite Tracks: Mystery Brethren, Focus On A Rollercoaster, Here Today, Refrain Tomorrow
Also jackhammer, I absolutely loved this album. Are there any similar bands you could recommend?