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Atsuko Chiba — Water, It Feels Like It's Growing
(Bandcamp Mothland MOTH025, 2023, CD / LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2023-11-05

Water, It Feels Like It's Growing Cover art

There is a sonic space where shoegaze and psychedelic rock rub noses with post-rock, resulting in dense, trippy music that can appeal on many levels. One band I’ve known for a while that occupies this area is The Black Angels, and I would put Atsuko Chiba in the same general territory. The five-piece band started in 2011 in Montreal, and Water, It Feels Like It's Growing is their third full-length release; they also have a number of singles and EPs on their Bandcamp page. The group consists of Anthony Piazza (drums, live projections), David Palumbo (bass, vocals), Eric Schafhauser (guitar, synths), Karim Lakhdar (guitar, synths, vocals), and Kevin McDonald (guitar, synths), and they take their name from the lead character in Satoshi Kon’s surrealistic anime classic Paprika. Just as Paprika uses a wide variety of moods and styles to depict a world of dreams, the band incorporates a wide variety of sounds to build their musical world. “Sunbath” starts with droning notes and a primal drum beat and builds slowly to a grand level, hypnotically waxing and waning with vocals bathed in reverb. “So Much For” starts much more directly, with a quick 6/4 riff and overlapping vocal parts, for a rhythmically dense sound a little like The Mars Volta. A brass section comes in to further expand the sound. Two other tracks, “Seeds” and the title track, feature a string quartet. One of the things they do really well is balance the gauzy resonance of shoegaze with the punchy directness of heavy progressive rock, so that a feeling of dreamlike surreality coexists with a powerful impact. Atsuko Chiba really has their own thing going, and it has an impressive and vital impact.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Atsuko Chiba

More info
http://atsukochiba.bandcamp.com/album/water-it-feels-like-its-growing

 

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