tttc - Foretold

Released: July 1

The last time I heard an album from tttc (Trang Trai Trai Cay), it was a comically absurd ride filled with all manner of strangeness in St. Patrick's Day. But on this newest release, the comical quality has been replaced by an outstanding depth and range of expression that is engaging to say the least. There aren't any tracks on the album that are the same as one another as tttc tries all manner of different things throughout. There are some track which are very drone like, relying on pure ambiance to convey its mood. There are also some that are purely field recordings, seemingly unedited and un-manipulated, that sometimes feel like what you might expect while other times being particularly odd. Finally, there are tracks which combine these techniques while adding an improvisational quality to them, which is notably how the album opens. 

"Summer of happiness" is an ambient track that integrates field recordings. This may sound like a trope, but there is a bit of a twist - it's the birds. I can clearly hear that they are, in fact, birds. But something feels off, like they have been mutated into something else, something that feels alien while being a little to close to real. Combined with the eerie pads, it sets a tone to feels like a murky forest covered in fog in which there is clearly some source of light but no way to figure out exactly where it is. Like the whole forest just emits a grayish light from everywhere. Listening to the tracks which are just unaccompanied field recordings was one of my favorite parts of the album due to the richness of some of them. The last track on here, "bon voyage," particularly caught my ear with the persistent whistling  combined with the footsteps. I was trying to envision the world surrounding these sounds but it feels just a bit otherworldly, like it is both a real place and not a real place at the same time.  

The more improvisational tracks on this album are fewer, but still add a layer of depth to the album as a whole. My favorite of these improvisations is the one that happens right before the end. It consists of just barely more than a minute of guitar plucking and strumming, playing out somewhat random notes and chords. In isolation, it doesn't mean much. But as a bridge into the final track (full of the aforementioned whistling) it works spectacularly well in introducing a small amount of whimsy into what otherwise feels like a more serious work overall.