Indie Music, Reviews

Emi Evans Outside of NieR: freesscape’s Next Confusion (Review)

June 4, 2010 | | Comment? Share thison Facebook Emi Evans Outside of NieR: freesscape’s Next Confusion (Review)on Twitter

In case you couldn’t tell, most of us here are completely in love with the NieR soundtrack. A big part of that soundtrack’s draw is the voice of Emi Evans, a London-born singer who is making a name for herself in Japan. While she’s been involved with the Etrian Odyssey Super Arrange Version series and NieR as far as the videogame industry is concerned, you may recall from our interview with her last month that her number one focus right now is on her trip-hop group, freesscape.

The group is comprised of Emi Evans on vocals, cello, piano, and Rhodes and Japanese composer, arranger and performer Hiroyki Muneta handling the music programming and a number of live instruments. While they are currently working on their third album, entitled “Now is the point at which I touch eternity,” we wanted to take a look back at the duo’s most recent album, Next Confusion, which was released in 2007.

This album in particular solidified the duo’s standing in the trip-hop genre, treading on territory familiar to fans of Bjork, Massive Attack, and even Radiohead at times. This contrasts greatly with their more stylistically diverse but equally interesting debut album, fragile perfection, which was released in 2004 (check out “Stretch” and “Little Miss Emily” on iTunes if you’re interested).

So, does Next Confusion stand up to Emi Evans’s recent achievements with the NieR soundtrack? Find out in our review after the jump.

First of all, comparing NieR and Next Confusion is like comparing apples and oranges. They’re two distinctly different sounds, but both are tied together by Emi Evans’s ethereal voice. With freesscape, the backing music is intentionally minimalistic and repetitive at times, making way for Emi Evans to shine, and shine she does.

While her vocals are the highlight here, the album opens with a instrumental intro titled “Eternal Haze,” which features droning pads that slowly build to a climax before fading out and giving way to the chopped up synths and filtered percussion of “Golden Spectrum.” Evans’s angelic voice ascends upwards with each verse as piano and vocal harmonies are added, creating a warm and enveloping atmosphere despite the distorted electronic nature of the underlying music.

One of my favorite tracks is “Corners,” whose musical backing is highly reminiscent of Radiohead with its hard-hitting synth lines and percussion, but Evans takes the track in a different direction, especially during the layered chorus section which sounds dreamy and comforting. “Picture Frame” is another great track with a sweet piano melody and Evans’s more pop-oriented vocals. Bass is used very sparingly in this track to give emphasis to key parts in the song, giving the rest of the piece a very light atmosphere. The mesmerizing belltones and peculiar pad swells of “T&C” contrast nicely with Evans’s high-pitched vocals. This track is close to 7 minutes in length, but never did I find myself getting bored and looking at the clock to see if it was almost over. It’s dark, it’s beautiful, and I want more!

We get another musical interlude with the foreboding “Reply” before we go into the final stretch, starting with the title track, “Next Confusion.” It features disorienting synth lines and a fluttering bass drum before Evans’s voice rings out clear and true through the mix. The backing musical accompaniment remains fairly minimalistic throughout the track, leaving Evans to stand on her own where she performs wonderfully. This is really a great track, and the group also includes an “Original Version” of “Next Confusion” which is much more organic with a drum set and bass. Both versions are excellent, and define what freesscape is all about.

The jazz-tinged “Made my Peace” provides a nice contrast with its jazz percussion and rich piano chords, although synth elements creep in to keep it in line with the rest of the album. “Cosmos” is deceptively simple with only a filtered belltone backing, but the music effectively conveys the lonely expanses of outer space while Evans’s voice depicts the beautiful grandeur of the universe. The final track, “Cows,” is nearly 10 minutes in length, and is just as playful as the title would suggest. There’s a section here where Evans breaks out of her characteristic “soft” singing style, and instead opts for a more energetic and almost aggressive singing style that works well within the track and is a joy to hear. I love the manipulated and distorted effects on Evans’s voice (courtesy of Morgan Fisher, former keyboardist of Mott the Hoople), and this is a fun and effective way to close out the album.

The booklet contains lyrics to all the songs on the album, and the painting on the cover was actually created by Emi Evans herself. While Next Confusion is a completely different animal from NieR, it’s still powerful, memorable, and beautiful, and fans of Evans’s voice should feel right at home with freesscape’s efforts thus far. There’s not a single track on the album that I don’t like, and it definitely has me looking forward to freesscape’s upcoming third album. While it’s impossible not to recognize the role Emi Evans plays in this duo, Muneta’s musical backings provide a perfect platform for her voice, and I’m impressed with what the two have accomplished with this album. It’s currently available on CD Baby as well as iTunes, and I recommend checking it out.

Is there anything that Emi Evans can’t do? Will you be checking out Next Confusion in anticipation of the duo’s upcoming album?

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