Armonico Hewa marks the first time in
OOIOO’s history that the group has had the same members for two consecutive albums. Though this is the same lineup that recorded
Taiga, that album and this one don’t have much in common except for the chemistry between the bandmates and cleverly cross-cultural album titles:
Armonico Hewa mixes Spanish and Swahili to mean “air in a harmonious state,” which the album delivers in
OOIOO’s typically unpredictable fashion. They’ve always shown a flair for merging opposing themes and sounds into a balanced whole, and on this album, they take tribal elements -- chanting, yelping, lots and lots of drums -- and arrange them with meticulous precision. “Irorun” pits these wild sounds against a decidedly funky rhythm section, an audacious contrast that suggests a jungle turning into a city; “Polacca” turns sprawling guitars and dueling thumb pianos into streetwise gamelan; and “Konjo” fuses brassy synths with lilting guitars that hark back to
Taiga. Despite the array of ideas on display here,
Armonico Hewa sounds surprisingly sleek, even on the rambunctious rock workout “Nin Na Yama” and the epic “Uda Hah,” which showcases drummer
Ai’s towering rhythms among jabbing guitars and call-and-response vocals. The shorter tracks that bookend the album are even more stripped down, whether it’s the brief opening salvo “SOL,” which snaps listeners’ ears to attention with a squeal of feedback and assaultive drumming, or “Orokai,” which feels almost like a field recording before it shifts into brass and handclaps.
Armonico Hewa may not be quite as massive and focused as
Taiga was, but its smaller-scale excursions are still exciting in their own right.