The backsliding band is probably the most impressive of the new bands I've heard this year. The release of Colony Eclipse in late March this year was the first time I met them, and in May I was ready to write a tweet to recommend the album. Due to the busyness of life, the manuscript has not been carried out since the outline was listed. In a blink of an eye, and more than half a year has passed, it can be said that the love for "Colony Ant Eclipse" is not impulsive, at least it has experienced a small test of time.
Fast forward to the end of 2021, I hurry to improve this recommendation that has dragged on for half a year, hoping that it will not be too late.
Colony ants eclipse album cover
"Colon Ant Eclipse" is not the first album to be relegated, and before that, they had released two full-length studio albums of "Boom Boom King" and "Human Architecture" and the EP "Plasticine". I hadn't heard of them before, and in order to explore the transformation of the band along the way, I reviewed all my previous works together.
Boom Boom King has interesting titles, AbcdeF, BcdefA, CdefaB, DefabC, EfabcD and FabcdE. Very clear cycle law. I prefer to think of this album as a study piece of the band's run-in and exploration. "Human Architecture", on the other hand, has a clear theme and style. From the album cover and a single called "Holy Mountain", it set its surreal tone.
Cover of the building of human nature album
The cover is reminiscent of Salvador Dalí, and The Holy Mountain is Jodulovsky's famous surrealist film. This has revealed the theme of the whole album - the relationship between man and consciousness, there are very specific lyrics about the subconscious, and I am also thinking about the impact of technology on people. Krautrock's pickle rock style is more likely to open the listener's sleep nerves, and if you can immerse yourself in it, you will slowly see the fears and entanglements within your consciousness.
Poster of The Holy Mountain
The prelude to the stunning "Doppelganger", the high-tech temperament, the lyrics are simple and Arabic-flavored Synth-pop's "Push", the motorik drumming "Screen" and the surreal theme of "Holy Mountain" are my favorite four, rich in layers and completely constructed, and their existence makes the album seem less homogeneous. You can hear the imitation of the predecessors of the retreat, such as "Dangerous Place" for Gang of Four, "Man" for NEU!.
But there are also unfortunate places, such as the lyrics of "Cloud Chair" and "Digital Image" are very brilliant, but the melody is not very scratching. In general, the concept of "Human Architecture" is unified, but the melody has regrets, and the arrangement of drum beats is relatively single, sometimes giving people a feeling of aesthetic fatigue. However, I am convinced that "Human Architecture" is the seed of "Ant Eclipse".
"Human Architecture" can only be said to be the result of the band's pursuit of surrealist temperament, but it is definitely not a concept album. The concept of "Colon ant eclipse" is very obvious, just from the title of the song, it can be seen that the backspace band intends to build an animal farm here, and each song revolves around an animal to express their views on various phenomena in human society.
In addition to the distinct themes and concepts, the stylistic changes in music are also more pronounced. The psychedelic feel of Swarm Eclipse is stronger, and the drum beat changes are obvious: Afrobeat replaces the Previous Motorik beat, the rhythm becomes very good, and the ears no longer feel bored.
On the one hand, the band's creative progress, on the other hand, it is also due to the change of producers and the change of band personnel, and other musical partners have contributed to the performance and harmony.
When it comes to why animals were chosen as the main concept, at first the band just wanted to write about people, about the real life of everyone in contemporary society, and use animals as a metaphor. Thus came the lyrics of "Elephant Treasure" and "Flamingo Bridge". It was later discovered that perhaps every expression could be symbolized by animals. Other songs began to deliberately look for suitable animals when writing lyrics, analyzing whether their living habits coincided with the themes to be expressed, and gradually this concept similar to "Animal Farm" was established.
01 Flamingo Bridge
In a land that needs to be fed It doesn't stop us from screaming Imagining life again and again Is your stomach okay?
This is the second song on the album to be composed. Flamingos are reminiscent of running and advancing, but can also mean acceleration.
Backsliding from Guangxi believes that Beijing is a relatively indifferent city, and that Beijing, as the center of the Internet, has a serious internal volume. The sharp acceleration of the times has made people more ruthless. People who can't keep up with the pace of the times will find it difficult to dissipate this discomfort.
In this song, the strings of guitars can be clearly heard in a series of hurried performances, like the cries of flamingos.
Guitarist Ah Hui deliberately stressed that animals cannot be interchanged in different songs, because the characteristics of animals in this song will be deliberately considered when arranging the music.
02 Six-eyed dragonfly
A six-eyed dragonfly he stops at your chest Nothing to say I just want to stop at your chest
A song that is very fast to compose. In the arrangement, you can also hear the arrangement that matches the theme of "Dragonfly" - a series of sounds like wings flying. At the same time, foreign aid Zhu Wenbo played the bass clarinet inside, and Zhao Kai contributed harmony. And you can hear the drummer Maute's great progress in rhythm.
This is the creation of lead singer Zheng Dong in a period of great emotional fluctuations, and he does not want to write about love directly. Because people and people will always have some misunderstandings and estrangements, love is difficult to say clearly. In the creation, Ah Hui created a motive, and on this basis, the emotions developed became heavier and heavier, much like insects that broke the cocoon. So the dragonfly was chosen. Zheng Dong said that as long as it can leave a little mark on the person he loves, it is like a dragonfly that stops on the chest.
03 Lizard elves
You will always have a dark star in your hand Tell me not to be in a hurry Start by playing as a desert lizard
The sense of psychedelic is very heavy, and you can also hear some of the shadows of Chui Wan. Fumiyoshi of Bird Bump played the synthesizer as a foreign aid.
Lizards are agile, but usually like to stay motionless in one place. The lyrics express a small philosophy: many things do not rush, when the time comes it will naturally come.
04 Ants
At the moment I am like an ant To move several times to the end Pray that the moonlight will continue to illuminate me After a weekend evening I wouldn't like to go back again It cannot be forgotten that every night is starry
The song is self-explanatory. It is about every migrant worker and animal, living like an ant. Constantly changing new companies to rent new houses, moving like ants, not knowing where their real home is. Guitarist Ah Hui has his own job, and his rehearsals can only be done after work. This gave Zheng Dong inspiration and made him understand that he could not only focus on his own life and state, but also look at other people. Hit workers are the mainstream group of society, and he wrote this song for us.
The phrase "don't forget that every night is starry" is really exciting. Even if you are tired and busy, don't lose your life itself.
Foreign aid chickens contributed to harmony.
05 Elephant Treasure
We should cut open his stomach Because there is treasure in it This is your asset Share it with everyone
A song with a very heavy kimchi flavor. The arrangement of the synthesizer is simple but very gripping, and it was created when guitarist Ah Hui fiddled with his synth. Jingya and the chickens contributed harmony.
This song and the next "Rainbow Rabbit" were inspired by the bassist. The retired former bassist left the band, thinking his life was dull. So Zheng Dong wanted to write a song about the desires of young people. Elephants are large and symbolize human desire. At the same time, young people are eager to share their wealth and talk about their problems. So they sang "Share it with everyone!" ”
06 Rainbow Rabbit
Shuttling between sewage let me swim enough Shuttling through the fog let me smell enough Shuttling between the sludge made me jump one enough Shuttling between rainbows let me get a dip
Wen Yuzhen once again helped the synthesizer. The playful sound at the beginning resembles a rabbit bouncing around.
The song was inspired by the new bassist Guagua. She's a Les. The rainbow is a symbol of comradeship in the cultural field. The song is actually describing the psychological state of sexual minorities. Monochrome symbolizes the expectations of mainstream society for people, and a rainbow-colored rabbit wants to disguise itself as monochrome and strive to live a life of mainstream values. However, no matter how it is disguised, the rainbow color on its body cannot be hidden.
Finally, the rabbit bravely washed off the camouflaged coat color on his body and returned to his original appearance. This song also hopes that everyone can abandon the so-called values and expectations given to us by the outside world and boldly be themselves.
07 Monitor the feet of many centipedes
So many feet he should put where reasonable So many eyes were watching out if my behavior was agreeable I just wanted to break his eyes and ride on him on a trip
The harmony of Raising Chickens in this song is Cantonese because Zheng Dong wants to add some southern elements. At the same time, he felt that it was difficult for him to grasp the intention of the song, and producer Li Ping suggested that the band join the Chinese drums. So it's a very interesting song.
Centipedes have a lot of feet, and it takes a lot of eyes to monitor these feet. This song is about surveillance, and in the Internet age, we have paid too much for convenience. We have entered an era without privacy.
08 Dinosaur Show
The doctor said don't listen to the explanation, that's all nonsense You see the bones are still fading The truth about the dinosaurs is in your hands We were immersed in this upward excitement
Wen Yuzhen and Jingya continue to help in this song. The overall orchestration is powerful.
Inspired by a TV show watched by Zheng Dong. A professor and a tour guide explained the appearance of dinosaurs in a certain place, but because of the fragmentation of fossil samples, the two people's explanations could not match, and no one knew what dinosaurs looked like.
Because of the scarcity of fossils, it is impossible to see the whole picture. Ironically, in the information age, we swim in the ocean of information every day, and as a result, the truth of many things continues to be covered up. We're used to the reversal and reversal of hot events. No matter how much or how little information there is, we are like blind people touching elephants, and it is difficult to know the truth.
09 The Wolf and the Sickle
Come and play a game that can be repeated I play the big bad wolf, you are the little scythe I'm sick and messy You are the sickle that takes away my hair
Maute's drum beats and WenYuzhen's synth create a strong urge to dance. The synthesizer resembles an 8Bit sound, reminiscent of the video games played as a child. It's precisely this song that's also about a game.
You can play as a sickle and a wolf in the game, and the sickle can cut the hair of the wolf who likes to fool around, and the wolf can eat bad things. Wild nature and human society, where civilizations have begun to emerge, are intertwined.
10 Whale show
Catch up before the whales spray water Find the perfect angle to watch the show Some argue over seats Some have long since been stranded
Dinosaurs only live in the mouths of the characters in the Dinosaur Show, so whales are the biggest animals that exist on this album. It is the world's largest mammal, symbolizing the world.
The "I" in the song is detached, resembling a bystander. "I" just want to feel the world, and many people are fighting for control of the world.
Zheng Dong said that "Whale Show" and the next song "Skunk Rules" are connected, expressing reflections on commercial society and rules.
11 Skunk Rules
We are born into cracks in boring slogans Flag you should keep The goods were harvested at a low price and put on the shelves, and it was just facing me The rules of the game have never changed Shake your big flag Harvest the great greatness of your time the greatness of the greatness
Immediately after "The Whale Show", the onlooker "I" dismisses the behavior of those who seek traffic and attention, like a skunk.
In fact, since the acceleration of the first flamingo allegorical era, this album has constantly reflected on the chaos of the information age. People are as small as ants under the torrent of the times, life is dull, in order not to be looked at differently, they have to hide their personality, privacy is forced to sell, countless news without sources cover up the truth, weaken the judgment of human beings, and the whole society is viewing ordinary people as leeks harvesting to make money, and it is more difficult to be alone.
All of this turned into the last pure instrumental song, which is also the album's eponymous song "Ant Eclipse". Combined with the symbolism of the previous ants and elephants, I think the meaning should be obvious.
"Desire is an elephant, anxiety is an ant."
Note: The lyrics of this article are interpreted and the background of the creation refers to the "Pelican Hits" 21st interview with the band of the fallen band.