- Melancholy textures fuse with home-grown influences on the Vietnamese quintet's second album, which is still rooted in the band's cutting, improvised origins.
- Emerging from the humid heat of Ho Chi Minh City, Rắn Cạp Đuôi is a collective of Robert Fripp-inspired experimentalists and meme enthusiasts. The band's playful attitude cross-pollinates genres with traditional Vietnamese instruments and a massive dose of Throbbing Gristle bullishness. Phạm Thế Vũ, Đỗ Hoàng Tuấn Anh, Spencer Nguyen and Zach Sch make up a roster that, since 2015, has constantly shape-shifted through collaborations with a revolving door of Vietnamese artists, writing compositions that defy expectations and categories.
From inclement noise on Degradation to repetitive, hypnotic giddiness on New People, Rắn Cạp Đuôi's self-releases have spearheaded Vietnam's experimental scene, along with their high-octane live shows and 2021's standout LP Ngủ Ngày Ngay Ngày Tận Thế.
That previous LP bottles the spontaneous energy of Rắn Cạp Đuôi live: a brawling musical experience that pummels the senses. That's why the band is a perfect pairing with hard-hitting rave label Nhạc Gãy, an imprint known for its wild, free-spirited and DIY parties that pioneered an underground scene away from Saigon's usual house, techno and Vinahouse clubs. Last year, Nhạc Gãy put Rắn Cạp Đuôi front and centre for the label's Boiler Room debut, where the band's three-drum improvisation bulldozed over traditional hands-in-the-air DJ sets. Gãy's atypical approach to electronic music and the spaces it consumes matches Rắn Cạp Đuôi's philosophy on experimentation: barriers are meant to be broken. On the band's second album, *1, nonlinear elements are woven together for productions that are more dreamlike and club-focused than ever.
Take "Straws," where heartbreaking synths melt over melancholy falsettos, evoking feelings of yearning and first love. This ambient epic could soundtrack teenage angst or take a club to peak ecstasy. It's a testament to Zach Sch, the drummer and producer, who wrote the whole album. He never lets songs overspill into chaos, just like how his in-the-pocket drumming glues the band together on stage. His penchant for trance-like synths breaks free once more on "Pressure," lifting the song out of muddy experimental waters into a euphoric frenzy.
But *1 isn't all heart-on-sleeve synth leads. With "What Cherubs," IDM drums punch through a wall of warped noises that sound like they've been sucked through an internet meme blackhole. It's a staple Rắn Cạp Đuôi sound signature you can hear on tracks like "Nhộng Tằm," where distorted samples are chopped and fused together, building a tapestry that's the album's most experimental production.
This time, Rắn Cạp Đuôi keep themselves from stepping too far into The Gerogerigegege territory. Instead, they throw us into the raw, liberated feeling of a Gãy club night on tracks like "Bloody." Unrelenting industrial drums power forward like a freight train, which almost comes to a complete stop before melodic harps harmonize with a church-like melisma, as if we've been lifted to the heavens in a rapture. Even on *1's heavier moments, this is Rắn Cạp Đuôi at their most accessible.
Reflective, quieter moments contrasting the more adrenaline-fuelled outbursts. On "Untitled 2," birdsong flutters above soft ambient textures, transporting us to Vietnam's highlands and the distinct scent of petrichor. The ken bau, a traditional Vietnamese instrument, adds fulsome tones to "Mang Theo Tôi Nữa." And as the album reaches its pinnacle on "Bug's Life," Hà Anh Vũ's tender voice recites poetry as ethereal synths collide before a flurry of post-punk drums catapults it into the horizon. It's an explosive, cathartic ending.
For those unfamiliar with Vietnamese, the band name Rắn Cạp Đuôi translates to "Snake Eats Tail"—a symbol for the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. With *1, Rắn Cạp Đuôi have undergone a metamorphosis, creating a bold and original album that captures the emotive arch of existence, its extreme highs and dips. As the band's name suggests, Rắn Cạp Đuôi always seems ready to embrace transformation and renewal, happy to begin the infinite cycle with each new live performance and one-of-a-kind record.
Tracklist01. Straws
02. What Cherubs
03. Nhộng tằm
04. Bloody
05. Untitled 2
06. Pressure
07. Mang theo tôi nữa
08. The Virgin Mary in the Grilled Cheese
09. Bugs life