The One AM Radio |
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If there is one major selling point of The One AM Radio, it must be the voice of songwriter Hrishikesh Hirway. Whenever I start up one of his records for the first time, I remember how sweet his voice really is, and for a few seconds I just want to hold it against my chest and nurture it. Those little controlled bursts of air sound so fragile and innocent as they emerge from his lungs, leaving you just wanting to offer your support and protect him. His partner in this duo is Jane Yakowitz, who continually contributes lovely violin instrumentation to the songs, as well as the odd backing vocal too, and together they make a pretty solid partnership, although there is no doubting Hirway as the primary driving force for these songs.
The mood within The One AM Radio feels like it has recently altered, though. On previous release The Hum of Electric Air, the songwriting seemed more defined in a traditional sense. You could strip away computers and effects so much more quickly in order to find the real root of a song and let it into your heart. Perhaps something happened in the studio this time, because it feels like the computers went a little haywire and assimilated the humans. Maybe that sets a scene that’s too negative. The One AM Radio are not affiliated with the Borg in anyway (as far as I know), but there is a definite fusing of the acoustic and the electronic on A Name Writ in Water. So much so that it’s difficult to separate those aspects and this to an extent makes it a slower process to warm to these songs.
Opening the album is ‘What You Gave Away’, which begins with a strong enough lyric to visually enrapture your mind and take you on a journey along with its subtle music and cut-up melodies. Yet that same subtlety seems to hold on for too long - across the first half of the album in fact - and that’s what blocks any initial attempts at intimacy. Yes, the melodies are lovely, and the electro-beats either harmless or intriguing, but there is no initial spark or emotional fulfillment there.
Accidentally or purposefully, this disc is designed to win you over, though, as it seems to lighten in mood and embrace you more closely as it slowly transpires. If you want me to try and nail a turning point, I’d vote for ‘Witness’, which suddenly hits home as something more upbeat. With its fragile indie vocal and shimmering beats, it’s almost reminiscent of The Postal Service, and it seems to reaffirm the faith that The One AM Radio are still capable of something special. It’s then followed by ‘Those Distant Lights’, which takes that mood and multiplies it by four. Suddenly it feels like summer 2003 again, and the union between human and computer no longer appears so morbid.
Instrumental ‘This is a Document’ is the final key to generating further energy, with an infectious beat and sliced up violin parts creating something quite fun. Finally you can relax in the safe knowledge that you can go on, that you can make it to the end of the album, and that you can return to those earlier tracks time and time again to make a real bond with them. The initial connection with A Name Writ in Water may not be instant, but when you persist, you are eventually rewarded with some exceptionally pretty music.
Steven McCarron
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