Having completely sold out the entire pressing of their debut EP, Mouth of Me, Lark returns with a dark, brooding release, where the digital and the organic effortlessly intertwine. Fiercely antagonistic when it comes to labelling their music, these Capetonians insist they are creating their own genre, known as glitch opera.
Enigmatic lead singer Inge Beckmann feigns boredom at any attempt to discuss the band’s influences, which has become an almost prerequisite box to check for any serious musician in today’s world of hybrid genres and copycat acts.
Her reaction to such discussion may be owing to the lazy press labelling that always tries to paint female-led electronic acts with a Portishead or Björk brush, but when it comes to Lark there is only one comparison to be made: Kate Bush. It is the combination of that inspiring voice and the dark, dirty and pulsing beats of chief engineer Paul Ressel that makes the Lark experience one to behold.
“The common thread is the organic and digital marriage contrasted by some dark operatic vocal infidelities,” says Beckmann. This marriage is best demonstrated on the standout track Yuralastine De Biao off their new album Razbliuto (Just Music).
Swathes of electronic doodling gently writhe under Beckmann’s voice, creating one of the most sublime moments ever recorded in South Africa — and it is not alone. Razbliuto is overladen with sonic riches that combine to create a wonderful, 42-minute adventure.
“I think subconsciously we tried to go for a storybook on tape effect — the listener being the illustrator,” says Beckmann. “Songs or semi songs such as Reflections and RazÂÂbliuto create an atmosphere that tie all the other tracks together nicely.”
Beckmann is right; the album works together as a musical whole and the short instrumental tracks perfectly counterbalance the grander offerings such as Clown Mayonnaise, which sounds like Julie Andrews fronting Depeche Mode.
Spiders Eye and Cradle of Cable are dark, dirty little electro offerings, not dissimilar from synth rockers The Faint, and Bionic Mind starts off sounding like an ambient Aphex Twin track but soon morphs into a weird digital soundscape that would make overactive children feel quite normal.
Now with a debut album under their belt, the band looks set to begin their onslaught of Europe — because, unfortunately, this country may be a little too small for an album this grand.
Catch Lark live at Mystic Boer in Bloemfontein on September 6, Tings ‘n Times in Pretoria on September 7 and Loaded (Carfax) in Jo’burg on September 8