Published by Davide Pappalardo on July 22, 2018
I Tpame I Tvrame is a duo formed in 2016 by Franc Kurti (Tirana, Albania) and Dina Hajrullahu (Prishtina, Kosovo), dediated to shoegaze/post-punk music with minimalwave and industrial elements. After some self-released digital singles, they published their self-titled first album in 2017 for France label Distag and a 6-track cassette called Future Attitude for German imprint Black Verb Records, showcasing their evocative and sombre sound in which downtuned guitars and minimal electronics find a common ground in melancholic soundscapes upon which beatiful female vocals are layered.
Now they debut on Spanish label Oráculo Records with Ikin Vijnë (loosely translated as imminent/incoming escape), a 10-track album where minimalwave structures and post-punk atmospheres collide into a captivating sound in line with the current scene reinterpreting 80’s sounds with a modern take bent to fusing genres and styles. Dina voice narrates her sad stories while the music crawls with its marching and touching motifs.
The city starts with nice electronic lines, then it adds strong drum machines and speedy snares conjuring a soundscape soon reached by grim riffs and charming female vocals. Dina’s vocal delivery remind us of Boy Harsher’s narrative style, while the music displays serpentine synth movements and sudden melancholic elegies. Who you used to be offers distorted arpeggiators and post-punk rhythms enriched by the usual strings. Distant laments and static effects give us some noisy elements, showing a more experimental side of the duo’s music.
Thoughts is a monolithic dirge made of 4/4 rhythmic drum-sounds and sad organ melodies, upon which darkwave guitars and ghostly vocals have their say. An obsessive and droning movement with minimal structures evoking a gray and foggy atmosphere. Fragile showcases liquid synths and strong rhythmic patterns, generating a crescendo completed by spiraling lines and suave vocals. The touch of well placed melodies and the human delivery by the singer keep the emotional side of their music.
The title track plays with minimal electronic soundscapes, using looping rhythms, steady beats and filtered vocals with ghostly qualities. The track grows thanks to sparse changes and addition of throbbing bass-lines, keeping for all of its course the same bare bone attitude. Words unsaid ends the work with its mixing of EBM bass-lines, strong drum machines and post-punk riffs, reaching mysterious atmospheres among which the voice of Dina moves effortlessly. Sense of urgency is mitigated by the sombre soundscape, evoking a sense of growing tension without a real climax.
A coherent work dominated by a gloomy and ethereal atmosphere, where the common ground made of post-punk and minimalwave elements sees some variation thanks to some more experimental track. Dina voice is captivating and charming, apt for the minimal building of the track, while the usage of strings and evocative synths perfectly complete the dark soundscape. As already said, a work perfectly in line with the current post-punk/minimalwave scene in which shoegaze and more experimental elements give us a new version of 80’s sounds. Have a listen.
Label: Oráculo Records
Rating: 7,5