CD: Underground Recipes (Shazza Music)

Home: Hong Kong

Style: Rock, Punk

Quote: "Blending all kinds of ingredients together to bake up something wonderful, leaving an aftertaste to savor long after the last strains have sounded".

By Heidi Drockelman

Aptly titled, this latest release from Hong Kong-based Sisters of Sharon has a unique sound, blending all kinds of ingredients together to bake up something wonderful, leaving an aftertaste to savor long after the last strains have sounded. Basically, the Sisters have built upon their last studio effort, Paper Planes and Daisy Chains, taking the songwriting and execution a step further. They lovingly spent two years making this record, and it shows. While the sound is very unique, occasionally harsh, it is that creativity that foists this record into your psyche the more you listen to it. There is a lot going on here, and several spins may be necessary to take in everything for consumption.

This kind of complexity allows the listener to hear something different upon every listen, while the simplicity of the melancholic, lamenting melodies linger. The overall tone is very haunting, but aggressive. This isn’t wussified girly-pop rock here, rather the opposite, actually. The fact that songwriting duties and vocals are split throughout the disc doesn’t seem to cause any disparity in the sound and vision of the material—Chris Bowers and Kim Falkingham both have a wonderful tone to their voices, and the cross-cultural approach taken to the songs infuses them with both Eastern and Western influences. The vocals range anywhere from a darker Indigo Girls sound, to Marianne Faithful, PJ Harvey, and most often, Grace Slick. Bowers and Falkingham can easily hang in this category, all of these women have a very distinct sound, but moreover, a booming rich lower register that adds an aggressive tone.

This is not to say that bassist Jill Eason and percussionist Emma Featherstone don’ hold their own in the “aggressive” department—but their solid performance adds even more depth to the mix. While the melodies shimmer, and guitars add a warm tone to the tracks, a fiery punk rock sound often emerges, showing the audience just how strong the Sisters of Sharon are. Standout tracks here include the especially strong “Will You?”, “Fat Pies”, “Barbie”, and “Tribute”. This band is at their best when they cross cultural and language barriers, and the result is a wonderful recipe indeed. As a side note, the artwork and packaging on this disc is incredible, and only adds to the reasons to pick up a copy.