Union and Return

Album review

Luke Wyatt's relocation to Berlin sparked a departure in his music: along with moving away from the States, he moved away from the sample-heavy "video mulching" aesthetic that helped define Torn Hawk's earlier albums and singles. Instead, Wyatt drew inspiration from the work of 19th century German Romantic painters such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich, whose landscapes were imbued with powerful feelings, rather than just portraying picturesque settings. The Romantic movement was also fascinated with death giving way to something new, and Wyatt eschews the ironic distance of his earlier work in favor of more direct music that lies somewhere in the uncanny valley of electronic, classical music, and pop. He composed much of the album on piano, and these origins can be heard on "To Miss the Mark," which also showcases his virtuosic guitar skills. Elsewhere, "The Romantic"'s mix of percolating strings, vocals, and electronics is smoother and more deliberate than much of Wyatt's previous music, while "Feeling Is Law" -- which takes its name from a Friedrich quote -- puts the focus on its rising and falling emotions. Let's Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time's explorations of strength and vulnerability hinted that Torn Hawk might move in this direction, and the bonus track "He's Sexy and He Doesn't Steal" bounces and glides like an acoustic version of the Let's Cry standout "I'm Flexible." This time, however, Wyatt often sounds more serious; the brass on "Thornfield" is downright majestic and gives "Die Swimming in the Sea Here" an oddly triumphant glow. While the album edges into more somber territory on songs such as "Our Knives," Wyatt doesn't entirely forsake his trademark wit. Union and Return's breezy, half-synthetic, half-organic instrumentation evokes video game soundtracks and new age music from the late '80s and early '90s -- in other words, the kind of half-forgotten artifacts Wyatt may have borrowed from a few albums prior, while the choppy attack on songs such as "With My Back to the Tower" sounds almost like sampling. The cheery "Friends & Family" goes a long way toward making this some of Wyatt's most subversively pretty music; this is a Torn Hawk album that could be piped into a waiting room. Brimming with grandeur, danger, romance, and whimsy, these tracks prove a more direct Torn Hawk is still fairly complex. Union and Return is as much a continuation as it is a fresh start; as much as Wyatt's old approach might be missed, he doesn't need it to make compelling music.

© Heather Phares /TiVo