It is easy to be completely taken by Lullatone’s sixth album, bright lullabies constructed in deceptively simple presentations. The basic concept for this album is akin to the first track ‘A Mobile Over Your Head’, in that it is a child’s toy for fascination, and a device to lull to sleep. Also the construction of the pieces has a charming minimalist cyclical approach that incorporates its subtle changes amongst bright gleaming surfaces of revolving intertwined tonal plays. The use of vocal cycles, mostly intonations, sometimes tongue clicks or shhh’s, adds to this effect and has a genuine charm. The bossa nova of ‘A Plastic Bag in the Wind’ is particularly compelling; its childlike intonation attunes to lullaby purpose while hiding the formal aspects, rendering it somehow perceptually naïve. It like others are the beautiful lies we intone to youth, hiding the dark aspects of humanity and the world we lull them to sleep with bright happy songs of constructed joy, hoping that the gleam will never rub off.
‘A Merry-Go-Round in the Park’ is a quiet instrumental with heartbeat and glockenspiel like simplicity, a few effects and the introduction of drifting tones. ‘An Old Record on its Player’, gives the soft crackle loop of a finished record on a non return arm of an old player as the sopherific tone and melds it with bright wrought sine waves. ‘A Carousel on a Slide Projector’ again has the tuned down tones of a slow music box delivery, with slightly warped or muffled tones. ‘The Whole World While You Are Asleep’ is the perfect ending to the idea, with muted wind chime like melodies and an intermittent lapping wave recurrence all doused in a sonic cotton wool.
Lullatone consist of Shawn James Seymour and Yoshimi Seymour from Nagoya and their album is a concept based on the music for babies idea, in particular their first born child. Their specific musical orientation has found them being a perfect partner to the Hello Kitty Brand having released two ep’s in conjunction with this brand. It has also found them on childrens TV programs in Japan as well as well respected indie labels around the world. Their ‘Minimalism is Cute’ mantra of conceptual construction and orientation finds easy and willing listeners to this well wrought optimism.
Innerversitysound
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