Passing Strange keep things interesting, very interesting on their new album Afterthought. With their palpable drum fills, eerie piano moods, and anxious lyrics, they conjure the vibe of one racing the antidote to a dying man who holds the ultimate secrets of mankind. The duo, in their wild creativity, are that good, creating moods, hooking the listener, and leaving fans with an adrenaline rush in each tune.
Opening with the soft, quiet and sublime “ivory & Blue” Passing Strange show they can set a mood with their minimal approach of vocal, piano, and drums. Kate Mirabella packs more mood, tone, mystery and suspense in her voice than most singers can dream of. She doesn’t even need to belt because she packs a punch with timbre alone. Moreover, her solid, flinty piano notes can get as percussive as drummer Anthony Paolucci’s fills.
Moving into mid-tempo groove territory on “Old Log Town,” Paolucci puts a toe tapping beat beneath Mirabella’s whispery timbre. Her ever revolving piano melody invokes a feeling of circular motion. One can picture the two walking merrily down a sidewalk in a dark, weird Tim Burton movie. This piece manages to be joyful and eerie at once, and it is just strange enough to keep one following along.
“Ballroom Floor” finds this duo injecting more urgency into their music. Mirabella’s desperate lyrics keep the listener glued to this urgent drama while her piano notes seem to vibrate and shatter before the next few notes come into our consciousness. Meanwhile, Paolucci’s fills uphold and move her upper registers along with quick palpable succession.
“Evergreen” keeps things at mid-tempo darkness. Mirabella’s pushy low end piano notes kick this piece along a track from which escape might be impossible. Her vocal, sensitive yet evocative, conjure a feeling of someone along a nice walk in the woods just when it’s starting to get dark out. Aside from the natural dark beauty of her vocal timbre, Mirabella manages to keep things in motion using refinement. She only injects a small amount of vocal at a time. Each assertion, though, features a pretty sustain, a striking inflection.
“In The Summer When You’re Happy” finds piano and drum fixed in a tight groove. Both instruments employ that circular motion of notes, a technique that makes the listener feel an emotional holding pattern. The duo build suspense by suddenly playing their notes with deeper accents and a slight increase in dynamics. It is this sudden shift that leaves the listener wondering what the duo is going to do with us when this night time carriage rides arrives at its destination.
Mirabella employs darker piano notes on “Library Voice.” She also dips into a poppier technique, playing a catchy, fetching riff, numerous light notes over a few dark chords. Paolucci’s light touch drum fills provides enough note for note pep with the upper register notes, accompanying them while pushing them forward. This one keeps growing on the listener because of the snappy interval of notes Mirabella plays while she keeps a silky whisper in motion over the top of her ivories.
“Trailer Park” continues the use of catchy pop techniques, even if the lyrics are quite serious. Keeping things down tempo, the duo still injects heavy smacks of color and tone from their instruments. This is a song we can feel as much as we can hear. That is because Mirabella and Paolucci are sensitive to what a song needs and continuously hit notes that evoke emotion and conjure a scene.
Playing out like a slow funeral dirge, “Coming Up Roses” rides a solemn march toward an uncertain fate. Mirabella milks the forlorn vocal approach to deliver something that perfectly matches her minor key piano progression. As a mood piece, this one is perfect. There is enough quiet drama in the easy pace high notes and lower chords as well as the plethora of drum fills kicking it along. The darker chords and heftier smacks match perfectly, feeling like there are more than two players.
Uptempo, “Karen In The Daytime” kicks the doors open with assertive drumming and adventurous piano, something out of an action movie soundtrack. Gripping and suspenseful, Mirabella keeps her action packed vocal filled with tension, something that feels like it can’t wait to uncoil and spring even more aggressively. There is also lyrical intrigue: “My favorite heels broke right in half on Lay Avenue/
You kicked me out at 3 A.M but what else is new/
I slapped you around and tried some shit that you weren’t into/
I’m sorry love, I just wanted to show you what I could do.”
“Beauty In The Fallout” manages to propel itself forward with only gently slap piano chords and a subtle back beat. There is a knobby quality to the instruments that put a bulbous groove into this piece. Mirabella’s quiet hush vocal contrasts well with her shiny spike piano notes while gliding like a cloud over it. This one works because of the instrument grist as it correlates to the smooth vocal above.
“Killing Spree” moves with a bounce in its step, piano and drums pumping a jaunty groove. It’s a coolness that they press out of their instruments as Mirabella sends her sassy attitude over the music in an even glide. She finds the right balance with the groove, moving over it in a way that never interferes with either.
Close out track “The Final Curtain” combines a dark piano melody with a marching drum patter. The listener feels drawn into the solemn proceedings by the irresistible primitive beat and the haunting voice above the piano. Mirabella injects a brief rhythmic interval underneath alternating verses, something that makes one feel they’ve been trapped in a circumstance beyond their control. As with the rest of these tracks, this is mad brilliance.
Mad brilliance is Passing Strange’ calling card. Every number on this album, Afterthought, like their previous album, jumps out as a winning combination of mood, inventiveness, and sheer talent. That Mirabella and Paolucci can do all they do with only piano and drums indicates a largeness of talent and a brilliance of creativity. It certainly helped to have Richard Demko produce and engineer this album at his Greenwood Studios in Seymour, Connecticut. Demko captured the shine off of each vocal, piano, and drum note to make this kind of duo possible.
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