Review Summary: Subtle metamorphoses
Few things are quite as satisfying as finding an album that completely takes you by surprise and refuses to let go. Like a butterfly spreading its wings for the first time,
Performance keeps unfolding itself and presents an unexpectedly colourful palette of sounds throughout its thirty-minute runtime. The second album by Chinese artist Ecke Wu (吳雪穎) is an understated work of art, exploring the depths of dream pop, post rock and, most of all, sounding absolutely stunning.
This aspect of subtle metamorphoses is at the heart of
Performance. The opening cuts present an interesting take on dream pop: luscious, reverb-drenched guitar melodies use repetition to the point of near-hypnoses, while the airy production allows enough space for the vocals to breathe, functioning as a gentle breeze. ‘Back to the sun’ uses both programmed drums and sound clips of water washing ashore to its full advantage; the song is as dreamy as possible, yet remains intriguing due to its inclusion of somewhat unexpected, yet equally pleasant melodies. One of these small surprises comes at the very start of ‘游乐场’, when Ecke Wu opens on a full two minutes of sparse, piano-infused ambience, before quietly evaporating into a hazy pop song.
Yet, the artist truly shines when they fully juxtapose such moments of equanimity by occasionally abandoning this subtlety altogether, if only to reclaim it seconds later. ‘Flyer’ is an absolute masterpiece, extending the muted shoegaze of its first three minutes into post rock-perfection. The climax carefully deconstructs the song by adding layers of fuzz, subtracting melodies and condensing the sounds into a singular, quietly lingering guitar line. Similarly, album closer ‘One’ builds tension until
Performance tenderly fades. Here, however, vocals are largely unintelligible as the final moments of the record expand into blackgaze territory. It’s the perfect ending to an album so subtle, so understated you could easily
blink-and-miss its magnificent experimentation and subsequent undeniable beauty.
Performance is crystal clear; every small moment of unexpectedly vibrant hues makes for a record that is as pleasant as it is adventurous. From the shimmering perfection of the production to the dynamics as Ecke Wu does not shy away from incorporating elements of ambient, post metal or full-on pop music, this is an album that demands to be heard, or rather, explored.
