Replay: Casker - Polyester Heart

Revisiting music

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Polyester Heart marks a notable change for the electronica duo Casker as they switch labels from Lupin to Pastel Music. But the album also show some growth in the sophistication of their electronic sound in particular as the band develops an even more distinct electronic voice that very much reflects the album's title. This results in perhaps an even stronger overall album than Between although Polyester Heart's individual tracks don't quite stand out as brightly as the best of Between.

The album's title clearly gets across the two natures of Casker's music, the electronic (Polyester) and the acoustic (Heart) and this album in particular does of better job than Between in blending the two together into a more seamless experience. It does open up more electronic, with the electronic thump and floating synths of "빛의 시간" supporting Yoongjin's gliding space-faring vocals and setting a good impression of the rest of the album. This establishment of tone is significant because while Yoongjin has a larger vocal range than you hear on this track, the album intentionally focuses her vocals towards this more narrow sound and subtly lets her stretch out as the music moves closer to the Heart side of the music.

But the most dramatic improvement from Between is the distinctiveness of the electronic music, which simply just feels more original than the more straight lounge/house fare of Between. The electronic oriented music is quite simply "pretty" and at times even affecting, like the shimmering electronics that surround the delicate, but gorgeous and affecting ballad "칫솔", layering Yoongjin's warm vocals and adding in acoustic piano to ground the electronics, giving the whole song a sense of breathing.

And the music, like Between, also half contains more acoustically oriented compositions, most notably starting with the lounge jazz of "아무도 모른다", but blends in electronics, giving the change and shift of electronic to acoustic a more natural and organic progression. More significantly, while the middle of the album is the more acoustically oriented, there is a smooth progression in the amount of electronics present between the tracks and never shifts mood too harshly or permanently; the samba of "비밀" doesn't feel unnatural next to the more electronically arranged "너를 삭제" perhaps because of Ha Donggyoon's rich guest vocals, and the presence of both electronics and acoustics in both the preceding track and the following "틈" results in a smooth progression.

And the reason I find Polyester Heart so successful is quite simply how coherent the entire listening experience it is. Now it is a touch on the long side, approaching almost an hour over sixteen tracks, but the music stays pretty varied and interesting, even if the individual album tracks aren't single-quality. Even dips into more traditional approaches, like "Adrenaline"'s house antics, still manage to hold closer to the album's overall aesthetic, contributing to the whole. This makes Polyester Heart an alluring, organic, and complete album, thanks to a consistent overall sound and theme. And that makes Polyester Heart a fantastic listen. 9/10.

Tracklist:

1. 역광 (intro)
2. 빛의 시간
   
3. You
4. 칫솔
5. 2월
6. 아무도 모른다
7. 비밀
8. 너를 삭제 (with 하동균 of wanted)
9. 틈
10. 이명
11. 만약에, 혹시
12. 빙빙
13. Adrenaline
14. 너와 나 (prelude)
15. Polyester Heart
16. Polyester Heart (Hidden reprise)

Links:

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