Replay: Casker - Between

Revisiting music

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Between has the distinction of being the first Casker album I've heard. Having missed my opportunity to purchase Skylab before it went out of print, I rushed out and bought Between to prevent another such failure, but after listening to it, I was quite glad to have purchased it as it contains some rather gorgeous music, crossing electronica, lounge, and jazz, sounding quite organic for electronica thanks to the heavy use of real instruments and often blending the electronic pop music with Latin and European sounds all recorded and produced to a glossy shine.

The musical influence on the album is clear from the intro track, "Nuevo Cancion", which hands the album over to "인형", which opens up with accordions and piano, dropping in a heavy tango flavor as Lee Yoongjin provides dramatic vocals. The rest of the first half of the album does a lot to incorporate these sounds, like the samba of "모든 토요일" or the bossa nova of "정전기" and, as a result, leaves the first half of the album extremely attractive and alive.

The second half of the album dips much more into the electronic pop world with "달", a low-key groovy pop song drenched in gurgling synthesizers. Casker tries a variety of more electronic sounds too, like the mid-tempo house of "Night People", taking advantage of Yoongjin's vocal capacity. However, this second half doesn't quite have the power and expressiveness of the first half, despite providing classy lounge-friendly electronica. Furthermore, the distinct division of the A and B sides of the album leads to a less continuous feeling album, dividing the effect of the album into two halves.

However, that's of little complaint when you consider how strong the best songs on Between are. The first half of the album is dramatic, captivating, and gorgeous, brought to life by the Latin-infused arrangements, live instruments and Yoongjin's solid vocals, which reach deep, matching the music well and giving the A-side a great deal of class. The B-side, while not as remarkable at the first, is still full of decent electronica tracks that you could easily imagine being bumped in a hip modern lounge, never quite the kind of electronica you'd dance to, but quite cool with its beeps and electronic scribbling. And, as a result, if you're looking to see what Casker's music is like, Between is actually a great place to start as later works tend to focus on one of these two elements (Polyester Heart = electronics) or the other (Tender = acoustics). A very strong album and great intro to the group. 8/10.

Tracklist:

1. Nuevo Cancion
2. 인형
3. 가면
4. 모든 토요일
5. 나비부인
   
6. 정전기
7. 달
8. Night People
9. NU (feat. kjun)
10. 말할 수 없는 이야기
11. Soul:free
12. 후유
13. 망부가 忘夫歌
14. [silence]
15. [silence]
16. [silence]
17. [silence]
18. [silence]
19. [silence]
20. [silence]
21. [silence]
22. [silence]
23. [silence]
24. [silence]
25. [silence]
26. [silence]
27. [silence]
28. [silence]
29. [silence]
30. [hidden track]

Links:

• Artist website
• Artist MySpace
• Available at iTunes and YesAsia