Highbrow made acceptable, but without compromising. That’s how we would introduce a follow Indiehead to the music of Typhoon. We don’t know if the band would consider it complimentary; we hope so. Truth is, we have only praise for this Portland-based, eleven-member band (eight “core” members).
It appears that concept albums are making a comeback. Or maybe it’s just coincidental that a number of songs we've favored lately are tracks on concept albums. Typhoon will release “Offerings” on January 12, 2018, via Roll Call Records. The fourteen tracks are divided into four movements - Floodplains, Flood, Reckoning, and Afterparty. Each movement represents a mental phase of the protagonist, as he realizes that something is wrong, struggles through the chaos of his situation, moves into acceptance, and then succumbs to his fate. “Rorschach” is the second track on “Offerings.” The song is intended as a view of “the age of information and collapse of meaning.”
“Rorschach” caused us to rethink our understanding of the term “song texture.” Typically, we use “texture” to refer to the cooperation of components at a particular time – a vertical stacking of contributions (vocal and instrumental) having different tempos, pitches, melodies, and/or other characteristics. At times, “Rorschach” is highly textured, as strings, percussion, guitars and layered vocals simultaneously make their marks. At other times, the instruments seemingly take turns, as if on a partitioned carousel that allows a stationary listener to only hear the music from partitions currently aligned with her. For example, this “horizontal texturing” starts around the 1:49 mark.
Typhoon will tour in early 2018 to promote “Offerings.” The tour schedule is included at the bottom of this post. One stop is at The Independent in San Francisco on February 13. We caught Typhoon’s show at The Independent in 2013. The stage isn’t large, so getting everyone onto the stage was a challenge. The members are Kyle Morton (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Toby Tanabe (bass, vocals), Dave Hall (guitar, vocals), Shannon Steele (violin, vocals), Pieter Hilton (drums, vocals), Alex Fitch (drums, vocals), Tyler Ferrin (horns, guitar, piano, vocals), Devin Gallagher (percussion, ukulele, vocals), Jen Hufnagel (violin, vocals), Ryan McAlpin (trumpet, vocals), and Eric Stipe (trumpet, vocals).
“Rorschach” by Typhoon – A Song Review
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Website: http://wearetyphoon.com/
Bandcamp: https://wearetyphoon.bandcamp.com/
Lyrics of “Rorschach” by Typhoon
Eyes on the screen
We have all the information now
But what does it mean?
Reason’s a tease
Drank up all that hemlock
Here I am just reading the leaves
And left wondering
What happened to the life we lost
That got lost in the living?
And all this fiction makes me nervous
Turns out it was blood spilled on the canvas we admired
Just like some Rorschach painting
The film in your brain—it edits to remember, keeps the figure in the frame
It's a sacrificial violence, all those passed over in silence then cast out with the blame
And I’m trying to stay sane—meanwhile, the river of forgetfulness, it starts spilling the banks
Caught in a lie and instead of fessing up, we'd sooner just go out of our heads
I’ve been holding up my end when I should have doubled down on my own atom bomb shelter instead
Oh, oh, how you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on to everything?
Oh, oh, how you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on to your memory?
Oh, oh, how you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on?
How you gonna hold on when you know that you can’t?
2018 TOUR DATES:
2018 TOUR DATES:
01.12 - GOTHIC THEATRE - ENGLEWOOD, CO (TICKETS)
01.14 - THE WAITING ROOM - OMAHA, NE (TICKETS)
01.17 - TURF CLUB - SAINT PAUL, MN (TICKETS)
01.18 - MAJESTIC THEATER - MADISON, WI (TICKETS)
01.19 - THE METRO - CHICAGO, IL (TICKETS)
01.20 - EL CLUB - DETROIT, MI (TICKETS)
01.23 - LEE'S PALACE - TORONTO, ON (TICKETS)
01.25 - PARADISE ROCK CLUB - BOSTON, MA (TICKETS)
01.26 - UNION TRANSFER - PHILADELPHIA, PA (TICKETS)
01.27 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG - BROOKLYN, NY (TICKETS)
01.31 - 9:30 CLUB - WASHINGTON, DC (TICKETS)
02.01 - CAT'S CRADLE - CARRBORO, NC (TICKETS)
02.02 - TERMINAL WEST - ATLANTA, GA (TICKETS)
02.03 - EXIT IN - NASHVILLE, TN (TICKETS)
02.06 - THE MOHAWK - AUSTIN, TX (TICKETS)
02.08 - THE CRESCENT BALLROOM - PHOENIX, AZ (TICKETS)
02.10 - MUSIC BOX - SAN DIEGO, CA (TICKETS)
02.11 - TERAGRAM BALLROOM - LOS ANGELES, CA (TICKETS)
02.13 - THE INDEPENDENT - SAN FRANCISCO, CA (TICKETS)
02.16 - THE CROCODILE - SEATTLE, WA (TICKETS)
02.23 - CRYSTAL BALLROOM - PORTLAND, OR (TICKETS)
02.24 - RICKSHAW THEATRE - VANCOUVER, BC (TICKETS)
02.28 - THE DEAF INSTITUTE - MANCHESTER, UK (TICKETS)
03.01 - BROADCAST - GLASGOW, UK (TICKETS)
03.02 - THE LEXINGTON - LONDON, UK (TICKETS)
03.07 - LE PETIT BAIN - PARIS, FRANCE (TICKETS)
03.08 - BOTANIQUE - BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (TICKETS)
03.09 - PARADISO - AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (TICKETS)
03.10 - KNUST - HAMBURG, GERMANY (TICKETS)
03.13 - VEGA - COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (TICKETS)
03.14 - MUSIK & FRIEDEN - BERLIN, GERMANY (TICKETS)
03.15 - FLUC - VIENNA, AUSTRIA (TICKETS)
03.16 - GARE DE LION - WIL, SWITZERLAND (TICKETS)
03.18 - ROYAL - BADEN, SWITZERLAND (TICKETS)
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