RENMINBI
THE PHOENIX
WORDS: JAY LOWE

Renminbi’s third release, The Phoenix, has been available on their website for a good while now, but won’t hit the streets until May 6 of this year. This release, along with the band's two EPs, heavily rely on guitarist Lisa Liu’s Chinese heritage for their artistic direction. Even their name was inspired by Liu’s first trip back to her home country (“renminbi” is the word for the currency of the People’s Republic of China).

You probably wouldn’t even be able to tell that China and its culture had influenced Renminbi’s sound if I hadn't told you, however. Instead, you'll probably hear an aural similarity between The Phoenix and bands like Mogwai and Mission of Burma. The album opens with sharp burps and pops of synth (Renminbi’s synth-ist is identified only by three letters: SMV), immediately accompanied by jagged swaths of Liu’s guitar. The nigh unceasing snare and cymbals of Jim Archer’s drums drive this song straight into your brain.

Almost all the vocals to be found on The Phoenix come in the form of a musical conversation: a call and response between Liu and SMV. In one such song, “Lachine,” Liu’s voice comes across far brighter and more dominant than her counterpart, whose vocals come dreamily and echo-laden. The band lets listeners in on private conversations with the melodic dialogues, but they warn their audience away from reading to much into the lyrics; they are meant to be “imagined scenarios between fictional…personalities.” It’s a style that strengthens and reiterates the tension written into their music. “Fight Song,” another track that employs these vocal volleys, starts off with a lazy little guitar riff backed by complex drum beats and grandiose cymbal smashes and goes into a crashing chorus that is as infectious as it is jarring.

There is some really interesting stuff here, but it takes more than a few listens to realize it. The trio are as dynamic as they are wide-ranging; Archer can play as fast and complex as any prog-rock fan would like, or as simple and constant as any post-rock fan would love. Liu’s guitar is a beautiful sunset against SMV’s rich landscapes of sound. The two play off and embellish the other well, though something tells me that either in a vacuum wouldn’t be half as exciting as the two together. Long story short, Renminbi is an awesome listen if you'll wait around long enough for them to unlimber their wings and get off the ground.