Narrow - Soap&Skin

Tracklist:

1. Vater

2. Voyage Voyage

3. Deathmental

4. Cradlesong

5. Wonder           

6. Lost

7. Boat Turns Towards the Port

8. Big Hand Nails Down

Artist:

Anja Plaschg

Soap&Skin is the name of Austrian singer-songwriter Anja Plaschg’s musical project. The music she makes is based in two main kinds of compositions: piano driven ballads full of intensity and emotion, and industrial influenced experiments with dark and menacing atmospheres around them. Her second album called Narrow (2012) shows a progression in both senses from her debut album, Lovetune for Vacuum (2009) taking the intensity up to a new level.

Her voice is in top form in this album, driving all songs. She can sing with a lot of passion in some sections, as well as having a weary tone in some others.  This makes the listener go through many diverse landscapes of emotion. From feeling like looking from afar at a forest in the middle of winter, to a sense of being trapped in a summer storm in the middle of the sea, all in the same song. The piano playing also helps deliver this wide range of sentimental sceneries, with its extremely nuanced undertones. The melodies can transform from very vulnerable to extremely bold sounding, with masterful ease.  

Narrow was influenced by the death of Anja’s father after the recording of her debut, and it clearly shows so since the first song. Vater (Father) is the opener, and the first song she sings in her mother tongue. Probably the most complete song on the album, showing great maturity and growth from Anja, it is also the most powerful song on it. It displays a wide arrange of emotions and it builds up to a wonderful climax, where the song displays some electronic beats, drums, violins and horns, accompanying the wistful piano melody.

Even if that level of intensity is not reached again in the rest of the album, the songs that remain all show magnificent songwriting and very emotional moments. Voyage Voyage, a cover of 80’s French singer Desireless, has a melancholic feel throughout, and a beautiful string section. Combined, they create a longing feeling, as if it was sung by a loved one who is going away on a long trip and may never come back.

Wonder is a personal favorite, and is also probably one of the saddest moments of the album. It has only two verses which are repeated throughout the song, but nevertheless there is progression, from the first simple piano melody to the inclusion of the string section and the choir. The verses sung by the choir have a lullaby feel to them.  They paint a picture of a mother singing to her child while caressing him, with a dim light giving a warm feeling to the scene. Without a doubt, it is one of the most beautiful moments of the album.

Though the album’s main features are these piano ballads that display a mournful and somber tone, there are some pieces in this LP that showcases the more electronic sound of Soap&Skin’s musical spectrum. The more industrial sounds of the album show a varied mixture of beats and moods that give the album a very strong personality. From the deeply abrasive and massive beats of Deathmental, to the minimalist electronic subtleties of the agonic Boat Turns towards the Port, the diversity of this project in these compositions is outstanding.

The vocals in songs like Deathmental with its threatening melody, or Big Hand Nails Down with its tribal drumming fit the compositions perfectly.  The different beats and the general atmosphere of the electronic tracks shape the vocals to fit them.  Anja meets the vocal requirements of the songs perfectly, delivering what each of them needs to create cohesive compositions that reach their emotional goals magnificently.

The lyrics in these songs are very mournful and dramatic, showing a sense of bereavement and of painful acceptance of the inexorable. Like the verse sung with such sorrow by Anja in Wonder:

“Why we can't be

or see who cuts us asunder

like a boor felling a tree

you're the thunder

going under

over me”

Or the lyrics of Lost, presenting an extremely bleak picture of longing and loss

“Sitting, staring,

watching all you leave

behind this

There is nothing

which has so much more to give

I lost

I lost you”

The album as a whole suffers from a lack of cohesiveness, a typical problem of singer-songwriter’s albums. The songs don’t seem to have any special flow, so any song could be placed at any moment of the album and there wouldn’t be much difference. Deathmental is thrown between two piano ballads, which help it stand out, but it also feels out of place in that moment of the record. In the end, as the songs are so randomly put together, it could be listened in any order without changing much.

This is a minor concern though. Overall this is a very strong release, and shows real progression towards more adventurous and experimental territory for this project. Already a big music star in her own country, hopes are very high for how this amazing songwriter’s career will turn out in the future. If she keeps delivering songs as strong as the ones presented here, I can say with confidence that we are in the presence of one of the most interesting songwriters of our time.