(2023) Mong Tong - Tao Fire


Review:
Perhaps it's time to step out of your comfort zone and try something different. Maybe something that edges towards ambient music, but with a psychedelic rock twist, utilising an eclectic polyrhythmic combination of instruments? Mong Tong 夢東 create bizarre, mesmerising soundscapes on their newest release Tao Fire 道火, transporting you from the final-boss-on-the-beach energy of Tropic Sub to the humid, hypnotising determination of Naihe Bridge. The album combines Southeast Asian influence with bitty decaying synths, atmospheric nature sounds, incongruous percussion (like steelpans), and an impressive spectrum of guitar effects. This almost hodge-podge collection of tones and textures creates an incredibly compelling, intense, and generally dense experience that's easy to get lost in. However, Tao Fire 道火 truly peaks in its last two tracks – Ghost Island and Rain Maker. The first paints a post-apocalyptic bleakness rooted in current reality, with an unnervingly apathetic voice stating 'They’re lying to you, GI… / Your rich leader gets richer whilst you’re dying in the swamp'. Then Rain Maker persistently builds a storm of textures, with sustained guttural singing like opening the gates of hell, before… silence, for a minute, cut by a crunch, and a limping, haunted melody suggests that perhaps you have succumb to the music and are now, in fact, dead. — theskinny


   


Track List:
01 - Mystery Death
02 - Tropic Sub
03 - Areca
04 - Forest Show
05 - Taboo
06 - Thung Beat
07 - Mountain Pond
08 - Naihe Bridge
09 - Fire Wind Wheel
10 - Gold Earth
11 - Hanoi
12 - Ghost Island
13 - Rain Maker


Media Report:
Genre: electronic, psychedelic rock, world
Country: Taiwan
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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