Bitter:Sweet - Drama
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Bitter:Sweet showed up on my radar after a prolonged and extensive search for trip-hop, a genre that, once a staple in my musical diet, had almost completely disappeared from my playlist from sometime around 2002. During my hiatus I had apparently missed a few albums, but trip-hop had pretty much disappeared from the planet and, much to my dismay, there didn’t seem to be any new, groundbreaking artists in the genre. And then I discovered Bitter:Sweet. Drama is the album that I didn’t even know I was looking for until after I found it…it’s one of my favorite new music finds in the last three years.
Bitter:Sweet is a duo comprised of Shana Halligan and Kiran Shahani, who met because of an ad that Kiran had posted on Craigslist looking for a singer. Together they create sensuous soundscapes that are perfectly suited for a spy film or your favorite swanky lounge. Their mod sound combines 50s and 60s bossa nova and jazz with modern electro and modern beats, but the parts synergize into something unique.
- Score
- 88%
“Get What I Want” starts the album out with staccato horns and the sultry voice of Shana Halligan and quickly builds to a crescendo as she explains her rules. The next noteworthy song is “Drama,” about the aftermath of a failed relationship, and is followed by “Waking Up,” the companion story that takes place while the relationship is ending. “A Moment” is next and provides a look at the temporary nature of things. Most of these songs are slower, but “Trouble” raises the energy back up to the levels that started the album. The seductive and provocative “Drink You Sober” brings the level back down before the moody “Everything” ends the disc on a mournful and melancholy note. This music truly is bittersweet.
