Review: Melodrama by Vibe Tribe
I recently had the pleasure of getting a copy of Vibe Tribe’s first album, Melodrama.
The first few seconds of Melodrama, “Vinyla Sky”, start the album off with a nice ambient psy feel, and quickly progresses into sacred Vibe Tribe territory, flowing, liquid rhythms, composed of a wide range of synth and filtering. In the same fashion as Wise Cracks, there are no lyrics, just a constant ebb and flow of pure psychedelic sound, with a few key samples.
The sound of Melodrama is much more layered, and somewhat fuzzier, than Wise Cracks, especially on “Funky”. This isn’t a bad thing, it really adds a lot of texture to otherwise simple melodies. Wise Tribe has mastered sampling, and filtering, to the point where it sometimes sounds like an orchestra of electric violins. Melodrama truly takes the spirit and mind into the outer reaches of space and hurls you across the galaxy, speed and fear be damned.
As the album reaches the middle, with the title track, our voyage beings to change course, and we are suddenly plunged in a slower, moody reflection of the distance we have just traveled. The filtering is damped, and the bass becomes much more important. “Rearraged” lets us think, for just a moment, that the end is near. Instead, Melodrama becomes reflective, realizing it has peaked. We give ourselves over to the trip and drifting deeper into space, across “Stringadelic”, and into “Frog N Roll”. Here, Melodrama becomes briefly playful with “Bass Ratz”, introducing the kinds of blips and bleeps usually reserved for the arcade.
Finally, we reach “Adish”, by far most well constructed song on the album. “Adish” is a flowing journey back home, slow and bassy, bringing us back to reality. The beat is positively funky by Wise Tribe standards. The key point is a beautiful, slow piano that takes us softly back home.
Score: 4.2/5
Final Thoughts: Overall, I think Melodrama is much more raw than Wise Cracks, and is better for it. Although Wise Cracks has a much cleaner sampling style, and a more controlled progression, Melodrama has far more mood. Oh, and good luck finding this album…
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