Mice Parade - Mokoondi
(Bubblecore)
Anyone entranced by New York's The Dylan Group who has not also
investigated Mice Parade, the solo project of the Group's Adam
Pierce, is really missing out. Mice Parade's recordings are often
more adventurous and more interesting than the full Group's.
His newest solo album Mokoondi is no different.
To tell the truth, the Dylan Group's music can get monotonous.
Vibes are a great instrument, and the way the band combines them
with guitar, drums, keyboards, etc., is a heady mix. However,
with epic albums and little alteration to sound, it can be hard
to sustain interest from first to final track. Mice Parade, being
a solo outfit and outlet for experimentation, is here to let Pierce
play with the formula. That's right, Mokoondi is not just 60 more
minutes of vibes and guitar; it is 60 more minutes of vibes, guitar,
and cheng.
What the hell is a "cheng?" Luckily, the liner notes are forthright:
a cheng is a "Chinese harp." The sound of the instrument is fat and
wobbly, creating a sustained, plunked sound; it will sound familiar
to anyone fond of Idyll Swords I or II, however, it may or may not be
used on those records. This added sound changes and broadens
Pierce's palette substantially--when the cheng is forefront, the sound
can be very earthy and sparse, and when the usual vibes, keys, and
guitars are more prominent, the sound can alter into something more
urban and full.
"The Castaway Team" has the most players of all the songs on the album,
using four people (with, of course, layers of overdubs from Pierce).
The song is built from the juxtaposition of several themes: a moog melody, a
Stereolab-ish "ah-ooh-ah" vocal hook, shoegaze-like guitars, and a slow
violin part. The song sounds very suave and cosmopolitan, similar to
the recent Ultra
Living album that Pierce's Bubblecore helped distribute.
"Open Air Dance," a three part song that opens the album, showcases all
that is possible with Pierce's new expanded palette. The song opens
with just cheng and acoustic guitar; by the second part, vibes are introduced,
followed by drums and keyboards, as the acoustic instruments fade away.
By the third part, both the acoustic and electric elements are used fully
for a somewhat jittery countermelody showing the combination of the two
types of sounds.
The better songs on Mokoondi sound like what you traditionally expect
Pierce to sound like, but the variety in sound due to the extra
instrument gives the songs more depth and lets them stand out better. Just
like sex (or food), if you do the same thing every time, no matter how
great that thing is, it can become tired.
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