---Dom Vadino
------Released 15 November 2019 on Universal Music Australia
The German Folk-Pop trio, Milky Chance, has returned for their third album, Mind The Moon. For this, let’s consider that “Folk” tag as a very loose term. It’s worth noting these guys tend to write a handful of Neo-Reggae music (if Neo-Reggae is even a thing), meaning they write a lot of tunes that hone in on the down beat of a 4/4-time signature. Their music typically starts off more on the folk side, but after some hefty production and a kiss from I Heart Radio, you got some pretty catchy tunes, such as the title track, which consists of a steady 4/4 kick beat with some pretty acoustics buried behind a bunch of soft, rounded, synths. All of this supporting Clemens Rehbein’s raspy and hypnotic voice.
It sounds like these guys just like to have some fun in the studio. They sit back and jam on a catchy loop until they find something concrete to roll with. “Oh Mama” is a solid example of that. This one’s so much fun to listen to. The synth-line that they use to transition from segment to segment is one of the coolest electronic sounds heard in a while. Let’s extend some props to bassist, Philipp Dausch, if this is the result of his doing.
When you travel down the track list of Mind The Moon, you’ll eventually hit a song called, “Long Run.” This one is so profound compared to the previous tracks. The guitar riff they supply to this tune is so funky, yet still capitalizing on their habit of accenting the down beat. Although this is a soft-sounding song, it hits hard due to its simplicity and the environment they place the song in during production. To elaborate: less is more in this song.
The idea of less being more strongly applies to the next noteworthy song, “Eden’s House Ft. Ladysmith Black Mambazo.” This bass-line driven track induces goosebumps. The way the vocals are layered just feels magical, for lack of a less lame term, but it’s accurate. The way everyone joins in on the chorus bares the essence of a Disney Musical. As goofy as that sounds, it works. There’s a slight hint of a guitar near the end but this song is about 75% acapella, with every vocal pattern hitting a different frequency and filling in the parts where an instrument would otherwise be.
By the time you get to “Fallen,” don’t expect any more surprises. It is worth noting that there are some cool guitar samples in this track, but this track is pretty lackluster. This IS a pop album, so the structure of most of the music is going to follow that standard. Nowadays we won’t even hear vocals for a chorus, rather a synth-driven breakdown instead, such as the collaboration between Coldplay and The Chainsmokers, "Something Just Like This." This trend is influenced by electronic dance music, regardless of song structure. For the most part, people understand the "buildup" and the "drop" in an EDM track. The same applies in the example. At least Milky Chance is decent enough to provide some sort of vocal pattern during these chorus breaks. This doesn’t dismiss them entirely from making product-music, which feels like the intent of “Fallen,” but it just misses with its popularity so, it sits as the second to last song on the album with a very minimal amount of listens compared to the rest.
The album closes with the song “Window.” It’s surprising to see these guys slow it down for the last song. You’d think after the bomb on “Fallen,” they would come in hard for their last track, but nay—they made something more sluggish. It definitely sounds better than “Fallen.” It has a really nice electric-organ rhythm, similar to what you would hear from The Beach Boys at times. The song progressively winds down, over-looking the fact that they’ve already started slow. Again, the down-beat emphasis is prevalent on “Window” and it just sort of blends in with the rest of the copy-and-pasted rhythms.
Overall, is it a bad album? No. It’s not for everyone. It’s understandable why people are into Milky Chance—They’re chill and they’ve definitely set a pace for themselves when it comes to writing music. They’re a very easy-to-listen-to group, with very simple structure, but some wild electronic sounds at times. If they utilized their talents on their stringed instruments some more they’d be more appreciated musicians. There’s a couple of tracks on here that are so profound from the rest that it’s a little upsetting they didn’t continue those vibes elsewhere on the album. Hopefully, we can hear a little more similar style of those standout tracks in some of their future work.
Check out the track, "Eden's House feat. Ladysmith Black Mambazo" below.
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