With ROUGH MIX, Sivan Langer offers a collection of tracks, imperfect but endearing and created with heart. Review.
ROUGH MIX – SIVAN LANGER
ROUGH MIX by Sivan Langer is deeply endearing in its atmospheres. While it’s a work that could be improved in certain technical aspects, it’s also through its imperfections that the magic happens. The vocals are arranged to best match the created atmospheres, dreamlike, introspective, solemn, but would sometimes deserve to be brought forward, clearer and more distinct in the mix. Still, Sivan Langer allows his creations to bear the imprint of conflicts, just as much as he imbues them with gentleness, melancholy, and hope. He does all this in a distinctive style that blends many genres.
He opens with Three Monkey Song borrows energy from the 2000s pop-punk scene. Then, Alibi brings back a sound somewhere between rock, folk, and classic soul, still full of sweetness and ending with some bolder attempts that aren’t always effective in the track’s overall balance. Let’s Rock It adds a good dose of effects and organ to a laid-back vibe that’s missing just a little something, before making us dive into a more solemn tone with The Second Cup. Comes in the superb Salvador follows, with its bossa and jazz inspirations. The track is especially polished, tender, and soothing. Can’t Stand then returns to a more classic rock sound.
Barbarians features prominent, very clear vocals, but not as gripping as I would have liked. Races plays much more with vocal spatialisation and returns to some intriguing psychedelic effects. Next, Simple Song highlights the artist’s optimism with a simple but effective melody and a stripped-back, slightly old-school instrumentation, laced with psychedelic touches in its arrangements. It’s Alright follows with slightly bolder riffs and an even catchier melody. Finally, Sivan Langer closes ROUGH MIX with World Unite, another hopeful track somewhere between folk and reggae. To me, the whole work is endearing and the genre blending interesting. Unfortunately, the execution remains uneven. A fine effort that still makes me curious about Sivan Langer‘s future releases!
You can find the album here and more about his work on his website.
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