On their debut album Yui Childs, the Mexican duo of Paul Marron
On their debut album Yui Childs, the Mexican duo of Paul Marron and Guillermo Batiz, creates some truly gorgeous electronic pop music that does indeed have some childlike aspects to it. It feels in some ways like an attempt to emulate in music, mostly instrumental, the dream worlds that an especially imaginative child might come up with. There's a softness and beauty to all ten of the album's tracks, but also an entrancing feeling of exploration. There's perhaps a creative relation to Japanese naivist electro-pop, Nobukazu Takemura and the like. Yet Childs doesn't sound as overtly "electronic" – the music drifts and floats, in an almost Cocteau Twins-like way, yet also often builds in the large-scale manner of a band like Sigur Ros, but with a degree of the delicate dreaminess of their friends Mum. All that adds up to a sound of their own, and one that's incredibly alluring, in a playful and immersive way. There's both calm and sadness in Yui, the dreams of childhood carrying with them the disappointments of adulthood as well. Magic and loss, both projected beautifully. – dave heaton
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Childs deliver an unlikely hit with its debut album, Yui, offering a refreshing look into the electronic/ambient world. The band is comprised of Paúl Marrón and Guillermo Bátiz, reportedly inspired by "anime aesthetics, icelandic elfin pop, [and] sounds from the shoegaze era," and after a short listen it's easy to see why. The band's fascination with dreamy soundscapes and playful surreality levitates its sound between the warm electronics of Múm and the lumbering clarity of Your Ten Mofo, seemingly focused solely on retaining a sense of ambiguity and vagueness. This isn't mean to be a critique, the overwhelming fluidity of Yui is the underlying connection between the pieces of the larger whole; even though the tracks may drift far away from each other, the lines are so immensely blurred that its often difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins.
The duo is well versed in the electronic world, capable of creating richly textured soundscapes that slowly swell and bulge, almost threatening to breach the breaking point. The title track is exemplary of this technique, and many other moments interspersed throughout the album gravitate back towards this functionality of melodic arrangements. "Mariana" reaches an epiphany reminiscent of Small Sails, while bouncing beats mesh seamlessly into a vocal chant. Layers are kept distinct and clean, and the band avoids the "wall of sound" ideology as much as possible. Here is where pop sensibilities give the project a purpose and direction, which otherwise would be lost in experimental masturbation.
The counterpoint to Yui's electronic handle is a deft understanding of the ambient realm and incorporation of its tepid movements. Childs delves into minimalistic territory, calling upon audio samples and fuzztronics to mar the landscape. These passages are generally accompanied by haunting, deflative emotions when consumed singularly, as evidenced by "Intro" and "S.A.D," and avoids the modern trend in euphoric ambience. As a consequence, the interplay between the electronic wizardry and ambience washes provide suitable contrasts to pique the listener's attention. Notably, not a whole lot of effort is put behind achieving this dynamic -- at least not in comparison to the average instrumental act -- but Childs shows that with a little ingenuity and subtlety, anything is possible.
The future of Childs lies in the development of the interplay between the ambient and the electronic into a workable whole. Although this effect is attempted on Yui, the tracks that sit between the two poles are undoubtedly the most awkward. Tracks like "Reki" and "Post-Steele" lose the confidence that is closely connected to the rest of the album and a sense of stagnation begins to creep into the corners. This threatens the immaculate flow of Yui, but inevitably Marrón and Bátiz keep it together. Future works that are able to better bridge the two distinct sides of this duo could be breathtaking; the groundwork is clearly laid down for some amazing work.
-Jordan Volz
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Childs deliver an unlikely hit with its debut album, Yui, offering a refreshing look into the electronic/ambient world. The band is comprised of Paúl Marrón and Guillermo Bátiz, reportedly inspired by "anime aesthetics, icelandic elfin pop, [and] sounds from the shoegaze era," and after a short listen it's easy to see why. The band's fascination with dreamy soundscapes and playful surreality levitates its sound between the warm electronics of Múm and the lumbering clarity of Your Ten Mofo, seemingly focused solely on retaining a sense of ambiguity and vagueness. This isn't mean to be a critique, the overwhelming fluidity of Yui is the underlying connection between the pieces of the larger whole; even though the tracks may drift far away from each other, the lines are so immensely blurred that its often difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins.
The duo is well versed in the electronic world, capable of creating richly textured soundscapes that slowly swell and bulge, almost threatening to breach the breaking point. The title track is exemplary of this technique, and many other moments interspersed throughout the album gravitate back towards this functionality of melodic arrangements. "Mariana" reaches an epiphany reminiscent of Small Sails, while bouncing beats mesh seamlessly into a vocal chant. Layers are kept distinct and clean, and the band avoids the "wall of sound" ideology as much as possible. Here is where pop sensibilities give the project a purpose and direction, which otherwise would be lost in experimental masturbation.
The counterpoint to Yui's electronic handle is a deft understanding of the ambient realm and incorporation of its tepid movements. Childs delves into minimalistic territory, calling upon audio samples and fuzztronics to mar the landscape. These passages are generally accompanied by haunting, deflative emotions when consumed singularly, as evidenced by "Intro" and "S.A.D," and avoids the modern trend in euphoric ambience. As a consequence, the interplay between the electronic wizardry and ambience washes provide suitable contrasts to pique the listener's attention. Notably, not a whole lot of effort is put behind achieving this dynamic -- at least not in comparison to the average instrumental act -- but Childs shows that with a little ingenuity and subtlety, anything is possible.
The future of Childs lies in the development of the interplay between the ambient and the electronic into a workable whole. Although this effect is attempted on Yui, the tracks that sit between the two poles are undoubtedly the most awkward. Tracks like "Reki" and "Post-Steele" lose the confidence that is closely connected to the rest of the album and a sense of stagnation begins to creep into the corners. This threatens the immaculate flow of Yui, but inevitably Marrón and Bátiz keep it together. Future works that are able to better bridge the two distinct sides of this duo could be breathtaking; the groundwork is clearly laid down for some amazing work.
-Jordan Volz
