Tamer Animals by Other Lives
LABEL: tbd

Other Lives, the orchestral-folk quintet, have created a soundtrack for a film that is yet to be made. But if it ever is, it’ll have one hell of a soundtrack. Using unique, sweeping instrumentation and angelic harmonies, the ensemble’s sophomore album Tamer Animals is more of an experience than a collection of songs.

Album opener “Dark Horse” hints at the journey the rest of the album will take, but remains the most accessible songs on the album. Vocalist Jesse Tabish’s meandering, Thom-Yorke-in-the-Midwest style floats above a pulsating brass section. Combine that with layers of castanets, tambourine and strings. What’s produced is the sort of track that induces wonder, excitement, and it’s also the only track that inspires hand clapping and toe tapping.

“Other Lives may join Fleet Foxes as ‘chamber-folk” sensations. Hollywood should start developing that film soon.”

From that starting point, the album moves into its more cinematic material. If Peter Jackson had needed another majestic backing track for Lord of The Rings, the ethereal "As I Lay My Head Down" would have definitely kept Frodo going. The song is a complex frontiersman ballad and lyrics like, "The air is all we need," will have listeners envisioning themselves as travelers on the Oregon Trail.

“As I Lay My Head Down” is a nice compliment to prairie ballad “Dustbowl III”, which maintains a mournful sound thanks to Tabish and cellist/vocalist Jenny Hsu’s hushed vocals. The song’s beleaguered though determined lyrics include “Moving west may bring us better things/ we’re on our way/ we’re on our way.” “Dustbowl” escalates into an enveloping soundscape of rumbling drums and acoustic guitars.

“Old Statues,” the album’s ode to cowboys like the Lone Ranger and John Wayne, sounds strikingly similar to Angelo Badalamenti’s theme song for the cult television show Twin Peaks, with a similar rusty guitar line and Shangri-las-type retro keyboards. Like the show, the track has a nostalgic and romantic veneer, but the lyrics sound like the forlorn confession of some lonely wanderer.

Other Lives "Tamer Animals" from Hank Friedmann on Vimeo.

The album’s star track is “Landforms” an enveloping track that feels like what Devotchka would create with an orchestra. The song is indicative of the band’s fondness for modern composer Phillip Glass, with its interplay between a rapid background and soothing strings and vocals. The song also decomposes itself twice into a lush soundscape a-la Frou Frou’s “Let Go.” The combination of all these effects feels like traveling on a caravan, purely unknown country sprawled out before you.

Tamer Animals extracts rustic beauty from each of its 11 songs, all of which ring true to the rural Oklahoma landscape where the band secluded themselves for 14 months. With such an ethereal and striking album, as well as opening slots for The National and The Decemberists, Other Lives may join Fleet Foxes as “chamber-folk” sensations. Hollywood should start developing that film soon.


REVIEWED BY JENNIFER MILLS
JENNIFER’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Landforms” • “Dustbowl III” • “Old Statues”

FREE MP3: “Tamer Animals”