First, let me begin by stating what will become quickly obvious upon first listen: “Tsk Tsk” is an instrumental track. This means that its job of entertaining the listener becomes a rather difficult one (or easier, depending on your forte of musical composition). Without any lyrical content, it’s up to Wales and Van Reyk to entrance us and hold our attention not through literary story-telling, but through the sonic landscapes they craft.
Beginning with a soft, ambient electronic melody, the song slowly builds up to a climax before fading off towards the end. But what really holds this track up are the off-beat rhythms and drums. With a sound verging on glitchy, it sounds like the drums constantly change. If it were faster, it’d be right at home in a night club, but the great thing is that it doesn’t need to be any faster. “Tsk Tsk” was composed for a dance performance titled “Happy As Larry”, and it has toured around Australia and will soon be off to entrance European audiences. I haven’t seen the performance myself, but I can only imagine the kind of fun, spontaneous choreography work that must have gone into it.
The song stands well on its own, and it’s the beat behind it that really pushes it out there and keeps it interesting. Well worth a listen, even if you’re not into this kind of stuff. Stretch your boundaries a bit and give it a go.
Verdict: Positive.
~
On The Tune 