(Folk-Pop, Experimental, Post Rock, Indie) Tenniscoats - Tan-Tan Therapy {Häpna (Hapna) : H.37} - [scene] - 2007, MP3 (tracks), VBR V2

Artist  : Tenniscoats
Title   : Tan-Tan Therapy
Genre   : Indie
Year    : 2007
Date    : 12/2007
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks  : 08
Label   : Hдpna H.37
Source  : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length  : 39:16 min
Size    : 49,1 MB
Tracklist:
----------
01.baibaba bimba                          04:37
02.oetsu to kanki no nanriuta             07:22
(given song by sob and joy)
03.marui hito (everyone)                  04:18
04.one swan swim                          06:03
05.umbarepa!                              04:03
06.abi and travel                         03:14
07.rolling train                          04:45
08.uta ga nainoni (like no songs)         04:54
                                         -------
                                          39:16 min
I don't think I'm the only person who fell hopelessly in love with Tenniscoats' 'other' 2007 album 'Totemo
Aimasho' (which appeared on Room40 earlier this year). The itinerant duo of Saya and Takashi Ueno had
stumbled across a sound which managed to somehow mingle the warring elements of Japanese
electronica and free folk music, making for a pretty yet overwhelmingly subtle sound. 'Tan-Tan Therapy' is
the latest full-length from the pair and this time we see them joined by none other than Swedish laptop folk
pioneers Tape, a band who share a considerable amount of musical philosophy with Tenniscoats.
Recorded in Sweden with Tape man Johan Berthling and in Cologne with the renowned Marcus
Schmickler (Pluramon) these tracks are the distilled essence of Tenniscoats' unsurpassed beauty. Where
'Totemo Aimasho' was something of an exercise in subtlety, this time around the band are unafraid of
going all out and allowing their lavish, sparkling heart to shine out. The band take up all manner of
instruments in their quest; glockenspiels, harmonica, bells, guitars, whistling, piano... you probably know
what to expect, but the lush Far Eastern quality the pair infuse into their tracks has to be heard to be
believed. Indeed there are similarities between this and Tape's seminal post-folk masterpiece 'Rideau', but
any academic weight is lifted here, managing to conjure up a light hearted breeze wherever it travels.
Just listen to the smoky jazz of 'Oetsu to Kanki no Nanoriuta' as Saya's breathy vocals are uttered over
piano, interwoven guitar phrases and light percussion before organs and electronics take centre-stage -
this is epic pop music, music that is pretty but never cloying or overly twee. Tenniscoats yet again have
managed to win me over with this record, and while it might not be as stark and surprising as its
predecessor, the inclusion of Johan Berthling and his Tape cohorts makes 'Tan-Tan Therapy' something
altogether different and absolutely rewarding. The cold north meets the humid east, and the result is a
heavenly morning frost... absolutely lovely.
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