When I reviewed ‘Forget That I Love You’, the first track released from their debut album, ‘Soon’ last October, I suggested the album will be worth keeping an eye out for. Well it has been released now and ‘Soon’ is an appropriate title. Doesn’t time fly when you’re pandemiced?
Unfortunately it arrived so soon that I wasn’t able to listen to the entire album but let’s focus on this track, which the PR company promoted as the album single.
To put you in the picture ‘Soon’ contains 12 tracks and the duo that comprises Vola Tila describes the process behind it as “a long existential therapy session” between the two of them, mainly centred on a longing to be able to appreciate the present, as “We know that the present is the only thing we have”.
Ok, we get that, it is probably where most people are by now.
This track, ‘It’s Not Your Fault’ concerns their thoughts about time. I thought that was the preserve of Stephen Hawking but he never wrote lyrics like “Though my head ain’t right/ I never cause a scene/Day in day out I wait for life to happen/ but it seems to pass me by.”
There’s plenty of variety in this band, believe me. When I wrote previous reviews on them I compared Vola Tila to everyone from Pink Floyd to The Smiths, to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. But this track bears no relation to any of those. The only comparison I can make is with 1960s super duo Peter and Gordon, like they’ve wandered into a time warp. It’s tuneful and powerful, especially in the anthemic chorus.
While I’m running against the clock I very quickly checked out the intro, ‘Mimmi’ and the outro, which is the title track, ‘Soon ’. The first is a monastic chant which then transforms into something that is very OMD, and then ends with a little cough as if to remind us it isn’t all over yet. The second is a subdued violin and piano instrumental which doesn’t suggest anything is coming anytime soon. Like I said, packed with variety.
I feel like I’m doing you a disservice not delving more into this album but on the basis of what I’ve heard here I definitely recommend you do that.
‘Soon’ was released today on 19th March.