Michael Jordan wore the number 23, which was also the name of a 2007 psychological thriller starring Jim Carrey. There are 23 flavors in each bottle of Dr. Pepper, 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body, and 23 players on the new album from The Soft Pink Truth, including leader Drew Daniel of Matmos. The art adds even more symbolism: a broken hourglass, a violet, a curious bee.
Can Such Delightful Times Go On Forever? asks Daniel, quoting Stendhal’s The Red and the Black. The cover image suggests that the good times, the safe times, the hopes and dreams of a generation are leaking through the cracks. The liner notes elaborate: “What kind of solace can music offer in the face of the rising tides of fascism, authoritarianism, cruelty and genocide?” It’s an important question, one that is answered, firmly and positively, by the incredible lineup Daniel has recruited from multiple continents, rejecting the idea that there is an “us” and a “them.” The statement is made before a single note has been played: the way forward is collaboration, through which one discovers mutual interests, mutual fears and mutual desires. Art has a unique capacity to address fascism because it is a life force: creation to battle destruction, light to dispel the dark.
And Can These Delightful Times Go On Forever, despite its subject matter, is a light album, in that it remains upbeat and hopeful, colorful and vibrant, in great part due to the infusion of energy from the international cast. The music travels between timbres, from modern composition to electronic, with touches of cabaret. As the opening track declares, “Mere Survival Is Not Enough.” The Soft Pink Truth’s first phrases are like those of an orchestra playing the score of a romantic musical, an assurance that dreams do still come true. The track ends in birdsong, like Snow White. The next piece features harp, brass and gentle hums. Is this too encouraging? Given the current climate, there’s no such thing. One wants to imagine that there’s still a ballroom – no, not that ballroom – where everyone is welcome, feathers and glitter and all.
The imagination can be a refuge, but the difference here is that the fantasy has become a reality. There are moments of tension, heard especially in the attacking strings of “Phrygian Ganymede,” but these are quickly resolved in a flourish of chimes. If life has become a horror film, The Soft Pink Truth offers a fairy tale, grounded in reality: where there is art, there is hope. In the same track, there is even room for play; one imagines animated animals running around the set, over the piano keys and onto the drums, causing happy chaos.
“Time Inside the Violet” is filled with friction, casting doubt on the eventual outcome; but as soon as “Orchard” lands, the listener feels an incredible sense of safety that some might call home. This is in great part due to the guitar work of Bill Orcutt, rightfully highlighted in the liner notes. The oboe lifts the heart to the stratosphere while the piano and strings provide grounding, until the orchestra swells like a hot air balloon and the track drops its ballast, floating to the heavens.
Can such delightful times go on forever? No; for they are impossible to sustain at such a high level. But they can be extended, and preserved, and recovered, which is the encouraging message of this heartwarming album. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 