Some fans of dream pop shoegaze and similar pop forms might shy away on the spot if they read or hear what TALsounds is doing on her new album, Love Sick before they hear it. You see, Natalie Chami or TALsounds is actually an improviser. In every respect. She puts down a melody or an instrumental theme that she just came up with, seems which ones she feels fit together and combines them. Oh, and the lyrics are improvised too. The first thing that comes up to mind and goes along is it. Right off, it works great!
To create music like this does not only take guts, but you have to have a perfect sense and particularly feel for what you are doing and creating since there are only two possible end results - a perfectly conceived music or a total unlistenable mess. Luckily for Natalie and her listeners, it is former in her case.
This is not the first Natalie’s showing as TALsounds. She started out on an underground, mostly cassette label out of Chicago, Hausu Mountain, where she had a couple of outings, but also a few other as part of Good Willsmith, a project run by the two of the label’s co-owners. But obviously, Love Sick is a much more widespread project, since it is handled by Ba Da Bing! a label with a bigger name in indie circles.
But what about the music TALsounds comes up with? As any improvised music, even if the improvised pieces and vocals themselves are partly arranged, can take you in many directions, so is the case with Chami and her sounds. But forget any hops, tempo shifts or instrumental squeaks - Chami is still dealing with mostly gentle, late night melodic sequences. The music covers a range that can go from dream pop and shoegaze to traces of spiritual jazz akin to Alice Coltrane. Oh, and the improvised lyrics may not earn her a Nobel prize for literature like they did for another songwriter who used to do that on occasion, but they do definitely fit perfectly into her music.
So dream pop lovers, don’t shy away from this one it is perfect for you. Or I better say us.
