Reinterpreting classic pop
Misha hits, misses with Teardrop Sweetheart
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
John Chao and Ashley Yao grew up as childhood friends in Taipei, Taiwan, before losing touch. Years and an ocean later, the duo crossed paths again in New York City, having traveled the globe to wind up in a bedroom near Union Square — in The Stroke’s old apartment — to record an album as Misha.
The result is a sweet and bitter album — accurately titled Teardrop Sweetheart — where tales about the disintegration and preservation of love ride assorted musical styles over a heavy electronics underpinning.
When the conflicting styles succeed — mixing the domestic bliss of Double Fantasy-era John Lennon, the swirl of New Wave innovators Blondie and dynamic bass lines and electronic symphony of Kraftwerk —Teardrop Sweetheart comes across as a great pop album. The medley of musical sounds Misha — Yao edits and programs, and Chao “bangs on everything” — attempts is grand, orchestral pop when used sparingly.
But Teardrop Sweetheart fails where it attempts to overpack songs, turning the music into a sludge of clashing rackets. The album has periods of getting arty simply for art’s sake, wallowing in the excesses of pop music at its worst — “Cruelist Heart,” with its Çhipmunk-like vocals ruining what musically is an interesting, grooving tune.
The good: “Crystal in Love” and “Shake a Little Looser” are a pair of stunning ’60s pop songs updated for the 21st century — one sugary sweet (“Crystal in Love”) while the other drips in melancholy (“Shake a Little Looser”).
On “Crystal in Love,” Chao imitates Lennon (plaintively singing “If I love you today/There are no promises/Cause baby, should I love you tomorrow?”) before Deborah Harry bursts in, slicing through the wistful piano ballad with dance party in hand. It’s gorgeous, contemporary pop — swinging wildly between sorrowful verses and jubilant choruses.
With “Shake a Little Looser,” Chao and Yao place the sound of a heart breaking to paper (“One day wake up wash your hands/Of past times where I stand”) over a simple, yet expressive acoustic guitar.
The minimalist spirit also succeeds on “Summersend,” blending an effortless guitar lick over high-hat drums and heavenly vocals.
The bad: It’s a fine line between good and bad electronica music. The synthesizers, the computer-generated beeps and blips, the drum machines — all have a difficult time broadcasting the human condition behind the music. Teardrop Sweetheart flounders here as well, as certain songs sound distant — “Losing,” “Anaconda” and “The Book (of Glaciers)” — as the light-hearted lyrics fail to introduce soul to the patchwork of sounds.
Must haves: “Weatherbees,” “Summersend,” “Crystal in Love,” “Shake a Little Looser”
Rating (out of 5): 3
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