Just when I was starting to think they were dead, Sydney band Van She have dropped a new album on us all. It turns out all this time they were just hiding out in Jamaica, honing and modifying parts of their sound while they left other parts of it virtually untouched.
I like how Van She’s sound has developed over the years. They have a knack for producing beats which feel heavy, and dense; you can really get lost in some of the synth sounds they use. Density is probably the best word for me to use for me to describe what it is I love about this music so much; sometimes electronic music can seem so unsatisfying but I never feel this way listening to Van She.
The second I read they were in Jamaica I thought “Steel drum”, and this album doesn’t disappoint; where there isn’t steel drum to put to bed my fondness for mildly obscure musical instruments there is woodblock a plenty. Aside from this I can definitely hear a Jamaican influence in some of the rhythms that they’ve used, which is cool – it’s nice to be able to hear so clearly that the band has incorporated some of their recent experiences into their music.
On that note, I should mention that this album has a really good progression; the first tracks felt very traditional for them but later tracks really show some of the sounds that are newer to the band. One influence which surprised me (when it probably shouldn’t have) was dub – “We Move On” feels a lot like some of the earlier dubstep from the U.K. It still has some of that characteristic WUBWUBWUB but more importantly you can hear the 2step in it, and you can hear the breakbeat.
I like this album a lot. Check out Van She on facebook, their website and youtube.
Listen to This 