Takka Takka
Migration (Ernest Jenning)
By Emily Becker
Published: August 10th, 2008 | 9:00am
Even though it has been a year since Takka Takka released We Feel Safer At Night, I can still whistle the melody to “Coco On the Corner” from memory. As the group returns with their second full-length, Migration, I have yet to find any one song that is as ingratiating. Migration distances rather than invites the listener, and is actually so different from We Feel Safer At Night that it seems like a different band could have recorded it. Migration takes its cues from Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers” — Takka Takka sounds as if they migrated to a sunless jungle to write and record.
While there have been changes in the line-up (guitarists Rene Planchon and Drew Thurlow now fill the shoes of Damion Jurrens), these changes don't seem to account for the evolution of the band’s sound. Gabe Levine abandoned his Lou Reed–style vocals in favor of a singing style that is slow, dark, and almost spooky. The band also replaced the charming touches like organ fills and harmonica solos with recurrent tom-heavy percussion lines and subtle, chanting background vocals. Thankfully, Migration is not without its high points: “Silence” takes all of the elements of the release's singular sound and accents them with tambourine and keyboard; and “Homebreaker” is the only track on the record that features a riffy guitar line reminiscent of the band’s debut. Unfortunately the rest of the tracks sound too much alike, which is doubly disappointing because the musical range showcased on the band's debut was one of its undeniable strengths.
Migration’s shortcomings likely stem less from a “sophomore slump” than from the band’s conscious choice to move in a new direction. Takka Takka tries too hard to sound interesting and lapses into anonymity at times. While musical experimentation can pay off, Migration would be a better record if it blended the old style with some of the new and didn’t sacrifice variety in the process.
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Issue #35
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MMinBrooklyn (over 3 years)
Emily Becker, I wholeheartedly disagree with your hack-tastic review. Takka Takka has grown leaps and bounds with its' second record. This is a sophomore TRIUMPH, not a sophomore slump. The nod to Peter Gabriel is there, sure, but so still is Lou Reed, Pavement and other like-minded indie/lo-fi/slow-fi influences. The band's musical palette has evolved and their cohesion is damn near awe-inspiring. SPIN Magazine gave this record 3.5 stars - arguably a more reliable source than Venus. The New York Times -- THE NEW YORK TIMES -- says, "Despite some earthbound moments most of the music is rock as meditation, with orderly repetition trying to keep the deepest fears at bay." Those tom-heavy percussion lines you wrote about? - ANTHEMIC Gabriel Levine's singing? - SOOTHING Lack of charming touches? - YOU'RE DEAF