From another firmament
On "push/pull", the four musicians from Quiet Island captivate with misty, delicate vocals.
Anarchist-inspired DIY experiments, multicultural fusion sounds and atmospheric rap now represent something of a stylistic orthodoxy of Geneva (see SMZ 11/2023, The sound of squats). But the city also has all kinds of "outliers". At one end of the spectrum is the extreme metal band Rorcal, whose search for the "inexpressible" has landed them in a pitch-black storm of sound. At the other, we find Quiet Island, a quartet of four voices - one woman, three men - and an instrumentarium of restrained plucked guitars, cello, flute and a touch of synth. push/pull is her third album.
Back in the day, they once won the "Pop" category at the Demotape Clinic at the m4music festival. Yet their elegant, finely chiseled music is miles away from everyday pop froth. Light as gauze, the four-part vocal harmonies lay over Bossanova-like beats, leaving plenty of room for the unagitated riffs or the gentle plucking of a discreet, jazzy guitar. Curiously, the band has its most beautiful piece, Frozen Lakeburied at the very end of this enchantingly misty album. The sudden use of woodwinds is a veritable moment of brilliance.
Comparisons? The Swingle Singers perhaps, or Fifth Dimension and Simon & Garfunkel. Just everything performed in slow motion and beamed in from another firmament.
Quiet Island (Julien Dinkel, Voice, Drums, Guitar; Julien Henchoz, Voice, Guitar, Piano; Louise Meynard, Voice, Bass, Cello; Laurent Zito, Voice, Guitar,Transverse Flute): push/pull. Red Brick Records
