1. Relax/2. Replica/3. _/4.Round And Around/5. Pie In The Sky/6. There Is A House/7. My Friend The Scientist/8. And You Changed Your Mind/9. Still Raining/10.Relapse

Release Date: October 9, 2015
Riot Factory

unnamedWe first came across the music of Dråpe in 2013 when this band from Oslo released their first album called ‘Canicular Days’. The band whose name means ‘a drop’ in Norwegian, has defined its music as ‘indieshoegazepostrocknoise’ and has listed Sigur Rós, Slowdive, Flaming Lips and Beach House as their influences. In their debut album there was emphasis on both the hypnotic and the noisy aspect of the music. The instrumental parts in the debut album were loud and experimental thus creating a welcomed antithesis with the ethereal female vocals (i.e. Sister’s Eye, I Wanted You to Stay, Hike). Both the instrumental parts and the vocals had equally important roles to play in the overall atmosphere of ‘Canicular Days’ and at times they blended in such a way (i.e. end of ‘I Wanted You To Stay’) that it seemed impossible to tell where the vocals stopped and where the instruments began.

It’s inspired by Sigur Rós. We all liked the idea of using our native language in our band name. We found Dråpe to be a pretty word on paper and felt like it stood out in a crowd. The word itself means “a drop” in Norwegian”.

Relax/Relapse’ is different compared to the debut of the band, as the role of the vocals is enhanced so they become the primary point of interest while the instrumental parts are of different quality as they are not forming a noisy background but a minimal one. The second album by the band is closer stylistically to the songs When You Wake Up Again and ‘I Wanted You To Stay’ of the debut album while the melodies and the rhythms of the instruments reveal influences from Jazz rhythms. Overall the atmosphere of ‘Relax/Relapse’ and the emotions that are being evoked, feel ‘lighter’ compared to ‘Canicular Days’ and the high pitched melodies that are played in the electric guitar contribute to this. ‘Pie In The Sky’ is a song about  “naïvety and living in denial” and it evokes happiness and positive feelings even though the circumstances under which it was recorded, point to the opposite direction as, according to Ketil Myhre, “the vocals on the track were done right after he had fallen of his balcony and broken two ribs, which put a proper challenge on the frontman’s pain threshold! “ The atmosphere hark back to the psych pop music of the 1960s while it has nods to Françoise Hardy as well as to indie pop bands such as Field Mice. My favourite song from the album ‘Still Raining’ has influences from garage rock and very interesting rhythmic changes which culminate in attractive melodies in the chorus…

Relapse as a concept with positive connotations

So the idea is that sometimes a relapse might actually be a good thing, kind of a second chance to get better again and perhaps change things.” (Ketil Myhre)

This album was inspired by the energy and the idea behind the concept of ‘relapse’. The music and the performance somehow manage to put us in a mood that resembles the numbing effect that a relapse into something might provoke. A relapse is seen by Dråpe, as a ‘second chance’ to do things better rather than as a weakness and an impossibility to carry on. It is an unconventional and innovative way of thinking positively about a concept which generally has negative connotations. This reprise of the concept of relapse, got more interesting once the band decided to express all this through music and I think they have succeeded. Whether intentionally or not, the experimental noisy solos that we listened to the first album of the band, return in the last song of this album which is entitled ‘Relapse’…as if the band is implying that a relapse could put someone to new creative paths. I like the layering of vocals as it gives to the songs the quality that an image has, when seen through a kaleidoscope.I think that Dråpe is a band that has a lot to offer and that we are looking forward to listening to them live.

You can listen to and buy the album ‘Relax/Relapse’ by following this link: http://riotfactory.bandcamp.com/album/relax-relapse

7.5/10

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