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Observing the changes in life

SINGAPORE — Another year, another new album from Singapore art-rockers The Observatory. The band — Leslie Low, Vivian Wang, Cheryl Ong and Yuen Chee Wai — have been prolific in recent times. They have put out an album each for the last three years.

SINGAPORE — Another year, another new album from Singapore art-rockers The Observatory. The band — Leslie Low, Vivian Wang, Cheryl Ong and Yuen Chee Wai — have been prolific in recent times. They have put out an album each for the last three years.

The band will launch the new album at the Substation Theatre on March 18 and 19.

However, there is more than meets the eye and ear on their latest release, August Is The Cruellest. The album artwork — with a burning tree in the middle of an inferno-blackened wasteland — references the annual environmental disaster of forest fires and the haze in Indonesia.

The album title, of course, is a reference to a line from TS Eliot’s poem, The Waste Land, regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century (and famous for the phrase “April is the cruellest month”).

Superficially, it might appear that the album expresses a sense of anger and recriminations towards the people responsible for what has been described in some circles as a “crime against humanity”. And you would be forgiven for thinking that it is some form of protest rock album, hearkening to the days of Bob Dylan’s ’60s work.

But that assessment would be an over-simplification of the seven tracks on the album — and, perhaps, a lazy generalisation of this multi-layered work. And it is quite off the mark, said Low.

“This is perhaps the most abstract album for me,” he said. “Free associations were made to all sorts of things. There were double meanings and hidden ones. I didn’t have a fixed concept other than wanting to create an album that was a noise/rock representation of (the song) Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan.”

While The Observatory’s oeuvre of work might be a “love or loathe” affair, the songs on August Is The Cruellest does offer a look at the band’s modus operandi in the studio. And it is this journey that band has taken – you could say the journey began back in 2001 when the band formed — that they want to share.

“Some of the music we’ve written can take some time to get into,” admitted Wang. “Giving a little insight into what our motivations were, our writing process, and what’s occupying our hearts and minds, is simply our way of connecting.”

She added: “Over the years, we’ve felt more and more that this is something important to us, speaking to folks who have bought the album and who take the time to listen, who want to connect through music and ideas.”

Yuen confirmed that the theme of the album encompassed more than what was obviously based on the album artwork.

“When we wrote the album, we were in Bergen in Norway, and every day, we were assaulted by news and images of Indonesia burning,” he said.

“When we returned to Singapore, the haze reached its peak and it entirely suffocated the life out of us. I think everything was interconnected, the theme of the haze and the politics of economic greed, the injustices of capitalism, climate change, TS Eliot’s poetry — amid many other things that we were thinking and feeling at that time.”

According to Yuen, in order to emphasise the thematic thrust of the album, the entire theme, lyrics, music, feel and message of this album are intertwined with the design, pictures and quotes.

“We always do hope that people will take notice of things and hopefully be instrumental in affecting change. Change is the perpetual constant,” he added.

However, instead of simply recording songs about the issues involved, the band took it one step further — keeping in mind the state of the environment.

“Issues such as these are always key in our minds and agenda. We continue to question our daily purpose and the roles we play as human beings,” Yuen explained. “That is why we decided to insist on using FSC approved recycled paper in the production of this new album and to minimise the carbon trail we leave.”

Regarding the emotional resonance of the lyrics, the band was hesitant to apply strict interpretations and more keen on having listeners drawing their own conclusions.

“We wanted the album to be direct but not literal and took this into consideration while producing the album — be it musical content, lyrics, the look of the album or even the videos,” Ong emphasised. “I would say the entire album is more focused on the perspective of change rather than specific issues or directing it at a specific group of people.”

This sentiment was echoed by Low. “Lyrics are always up for one’s own interpretation. They can take on both local and global contexts,” he said. “At least, that’s how I always set out writing — leaving room for interpretation.

“Anyway, in a space of a song, probably only Bob Dylan has painted topics with such depth and clarity,” he added, before admitting: “These songs don’t venture that far.”

Low said listeners ought to look beyond the TS Eliot references, the quotes and the album sleeve picture, which has probably leaned everyone’s perspective very much more towards the literal wasteland in our backyard.

“They only help to frame the songs within its time period when they were made, (such as the) forest fires and the haze,” he said. “To me, though, it’s much more abstract and open when the words were written. They encompass personal emotions and changes that we were going through at the time.

“In many ways it’s about change.”

Get The Observatory’s August Is The Cruellest from http://www.theobservatory.com.sg. Tickets for the launch concert are available from http://cruelaugust.peatix.com/.

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