Come Closer - the Album

[Wolkenkrabber]

Well it's Friday in Europe so the album is officially out. Some thoughts on each track.

1) Please:
daft wonky-vocaled 30 second intro. Meh.

2) Come Closer:
I think I previously suggested there was a celtic Enya type influence in the vocal, and since then I see that Aurora has mentioned that she had lots of Enya in her phone, so maybe I was right! And yes it still sounds like I Break Horses too. This track sucks me in and makes me feel cocooned or enveloped inside somethng new and intriguing. It's also a little bit scandanavian. This is the true start to the album. "Please" wasn't needed.

3) A Boy Like You:
Deceptive rising intro. Then it's quirky "Chems" like A Taste of Honey (the groove) or Fountains. A sort of slow-but-sexy kinda thing. I think Aurora's vocal has been pitched down, so it doesn't really sound like Aurora at all. Gnarly synths underneath add some grit. Playful; may be a grower.

4) Ring The Alarm:
The one we thought was new Chems from their DJ sets. It's perhaps a bit too sweet to be a classic Chems track, but it's a fun little slice of hyper dance-pop.

5) My Baby:
The opening lyrics surely inspired by Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares For Me". I'm sure Tom knows that one, even if Aurora's music library might have its limits (according to her own interviews).
A deep almost dubstep-y bass hum on this one. It skips along, quietly melodic almost like a quieter, pop-y moment from a New Skool Breaks or a Magnetic Man album.
If that is an IBIA sample, it's a small one - a sort or backmasked clap or percussion noise. Good to see @ThePumisher keeping his ears open, but don't get excited for a big Chems hit.

6) Have You Seen Me Dance Alone?
What in the Ace Of Bass is this? Psuedo reggae? Digital Dancehall with a white pop vocal?
Eurovsion goes to Jamaica?
All That She Wants Is Another Baby. Sort of.
Quirky.

7) Somewhere Else:
The "da da da" bits get a bit annoying after a while TBQHWY.
I do like the bass on this one - especially in the final minute. It's ok but not as amazing as I hoped for when we first heard a clip from Tom's Glasto '25 DJ set.

8/ I Drink The Light
The opening arpeggio looping and cascading reminds me of Sabres' "Chapel Street Market 9am".
The bass coming in under the first verse is perfect. Then the drop or full 'kick off' at 1:14 -perfect.
The repeated "wanted to feel" vocal at 2:14 goes on too long for me. And alas, the album version never takes off like the live version.
Where's all the skittering playfulness we heard in that Manchester live recording? The album version feels empty and boring in comparison. There was a bit in the live version that reminded me of S2A, but not here. It's still a cool, propulsive groove thing, but the live version is better.

9) Wavelenghts
Almost feels like an Alison Krauss folk/americana song to start off with. Then it gets more whimsical. Aurora sings "sail away" and I wonder if that Enya influence is coming into play (Orinoco Flow famously has "sail away, sail away" lyrics). It's fine but I've forgotten it already.
BTW: Why have they deliberately mis-spelled the title?

10) Side By Side
A slow-ish one. It's pop with a hint of Lana del Rey and country and Kate Bush maybe?

11) The Thing
It still sounds like Massive Attack meets Sigur Ros, and it's still pretty darn good.

12) In A Minute
Bonkers vocal editing. Japanese style dance pop meets uh...I dunno. It's kinda playful and frantic and fast, and I have no idea how to truly convey the sound of this one to someone who hasn't heard it. But it seems fun.
EDIT: How about: Tom wanted to make a Tomora Battle Weapon, so he did and he got Aurora to do some repetitive vocals telling us "Don't you forget about it".

And that's it. Aurora and Tom let loose and have fun. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Will it fully satisfy Aurora fans or Chems fans? I doubt it, but there is some fun to be had here. Yes, I've said 'fun' a lot.

PS The Irish Times review of the album also mentions Aurora praising Enya in a previous interview. You can read it here or here

[Bosco]

It's a pretty remarkable project album debut.

I've been holding back and wanting to express my doubts about this project, but a lot of that has washed away with now listening to the album in full.

What were my gripes/worries you ask?

Of the material that was released before the album drop, The Thing, Come Closer, and Somewhere Else, all sounded VERY much like work of other artists who we strongly compared to (Massive Attack, Enya, etc.). It almost felt like they subconsciously formulated the songs with maybe not taking a hard look at what the results would be, and kinda ignored the thoughts of what a seasoned music listener might say about it. It happens on release of the album too, with A Boy Like You. The Knife/Fever Ray, anyone?

They are all very good sounding tracks. It's just a bit difficult to understand why I should think these tracks are more worthy to listen to over the artists who most likely influenced them.

It almost sounded like Tomora was a vessel to hit on Aurora's favorite influences with an electronic motif. Which maybe it still ultimately is.

I should have never doubted though, there is an obvious cure-all from a dialed-in Tom Rowlands. The album clearly shows there is a lot left in the tank from our musical overlord. If some of this pent up creativity was hiding behind Chemical doors, and it was only to be unlocked by a viking pixie named (Aur)ora, well gah-damn! Thanks, Ora!

So, what do I like? I think the better material on this album is everything that wasn't released before yesterday.

Top favorites upon first listen:

• My Baby
• Have You Seen Me Dance Alone
• I Drink the Light
• The Thing (wasn't my first listen)
• In a Minute

I think it's a wonderful entry point album for people that are new to electronic music. It covers a lot of styles and textures, and feels a lot more realized experience than your average EDM artist will put together. I'm counting on Aurora fans to be relatively pleased, (Aur)ora nails it throughout.


In the spirt of Coachella season and David Bryne also being present at the festival... has anyone in Tomora management attempted to bring this project to his attention? I feel like he would greatly enjoy this, and maybe even like to watch their upcoming performance on Sunday.


PS. When do we get a tweeking Yam emoji for the forum?

[Csar]

Seems like there's a video for almost each track now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USRRfjEy0oA&list=OLAK5uy_mM6C5o30CnMNwhu2QeG9I4MsclvhTqL54&index=9

[Stefan]

It's this "visualiser" thing, I wouldn't call that music videos. Since so many people are using YouTube to listen to music, bands have started to upload these so that it isn't just the album cover in the video. 

[Csar]

Ha, I deceived myself. Should have skipped through before posting.

[mesamm99]

I should have the Japanese version of the album later today. Will report back on the bonus track and my full view of the album.

[Stefan]

Well hello there
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[Stefan]

The album is fantastic!

[Csar]

Well hello there
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That photo is fantastic! 

[Wolkenkrabber]

Well hello there

I hope they didn't scratch your CD with their little lego hands.


Can someone explain this yam business? Please and thank you.

[Csar]

Can someone explain this yam business? Please and thank you.

Here's another one wanting to know.

[Bosco]

Yam, from what I have gathered, is Tom's studio cat.

Tweaked out Yam has a lot of meme potential.

#makecaturdaygreatagain

Yam and keyboard cat the new side project after Tomora