Vienna Fingers Kiss the Keys oh so Tenderly (or, I Want My Muse Back!)
Written: Jul 03 '03 (Updated Aug 17 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Beautiful piano instrumentals, highly literate lyrics... music that takes you to another place.
Cons: Occasional uninspired percussion and slight pacing problems. No biggie.
The Bottom Line: Vienna's songs are too gorgeous and inventive to be easily explained. This is the sort of stuff that rekindles my desire to write songs of my own.
Every now and then I get the pleasure of introducing you, the reader, to a true hidden gem of an artist who is just begging to be "discovered". My friends, that time has come once again.
My introduction to the piano playing songstress Vienna Teng occurred two months ago. On that day, my girlfriend and I had braved hours of rush hour traffic and endless frustration in our attempt to find a university somewhere in Orange County that was so new, it wasn't even on the map. We did this to show our support for a favorite local indie artist, Corrinne May, who was opening for Vienna at this particular show. We knew nothing about Vienna, but had been encouraged to stay for her set by the person who had informed us about Corrinne's performance. It was a very intimate, classy evening, with both ladies playing solo on a grand piano, pouring their hearts out in song. They fit together perfectly, Corrinne's sunny, lovey-dovey outlook providing the yang for Vienna's melancholy yin. (Or is it the other way around? I can never remember.) The performance did so much to showcase a prolific and clever young woman whose songs and stories revealed not just the thoughts and feelings, but the very artistic process behind so many of her songs. It was the kind of performance that made me long to be reunited with my own songwriting muse after over a year of silence.
Needless to say, my girlfriend and I had to have her CD, so $5 apiece got us a brand new copy of her debut album, Waking Hour, for us to share and treasure. The album does everything that a good debut album should do - it displays several different facets of the artist's talent, proudly displaying the influence of mellow but powerful female artist who have come before her, such as Sarah MacLachlan, Tori Amos and even Enya. The album is fairly evenly split between solo piano numbers and more grandiose numbers with full instrumentation, which is a good thing - even though Vienna is more than capable of carrying the weight of the album on her own shoulders, it's nice that her sound varies from one track to another without causing the album to lose its cohesiveness. (Norah Jones could use a little work in that department.) And each song seems to have an interesting story or musical idea behind it, revealing a woman who seems unsatisfied with a composition if it wasn't created by somehow thinking outside of the box. There may be nothing as weird here as what Ms. Amos has come up with, and possibly nothing as hitbound as some of Ms. MacLachlan's best tunes, but Ms. Teng's got the goods if you're willing to really sit down and listen.
There may be a few flaws with Waking Hour, most notably that a few of the tracks still seem to have that lingering "demo" quality to them (it was first released independently, and only three or four songs were re-recorded when Virt Records re-released the album in 2002), and the pacing might suffer slightly at a few points. I will admit that the images floating around in my head during that wonderfully romantic evening when we saw her perform live weren't quite matched by the content of the album - part of me was expecting a flowing masterpiece where everything came together into a stunning whole. That doesn't quite happen here, but exploring the many personalities of Vienna and the people around her is only slightly less interesting than that. It's still a solid collection of meaningful songs about love, loss, and the fleeting nature of youth.
The Tower The one who depends on the services she renders
To those who come knocking
She's seeing too clearly what she can't be
What understanding defies...
The sound of drums and tense piano notes starts things off, gradually building into captivating song about a woman who appears to be caught inside of a lie. Vienna's soft voice describes "The one who survives by making the lives of others worthwhile", or as she explained during her live performance, a "motherly" type who she used to room with in college. We all know someone like this, a people pleaser who never quite manages to slow down and admit that they too are in need of help and can't live their entire life helping everyone else. I love how the song builds to a crescendo during the chorus, which contains the memorable lines, "I need not to need/Or else a love with intuition/Someone who reaches out to my weakness/And won't let go". This is the desperate plea that remains unseen by the people around her, people who see her as a strong tower, able to withstand all types of weather. The delicate piano and Vienna's descriptive language make it very easy for me to see that tower rising into the sky... it's a lonely place to live. I love how Vienna's voice trails off at the end of the song, as the instruments are stripped away and the vulnerable person beneath is revealed. If there's one weakness to "The Tower", it's that the drums don't do much besides keeping a simple beat - they don't rise and fall with the current of the song, and it makes it sound frustratingly demo-like at times. But the melody and lyrics still conspire to make it my favorite track on the album.
Momentum I come to you in friendship
And hold my breath against the snow
What are you thinking as I gaze into you?
The first "solo" piece on the record begins with soft, watery piano notes, and Vienna singing in a very hushed tone - you'll have to listen carefully to catch the first verse as she describes a strange dream where she is walking barefoot down an unfamiliar road. True to the song's title, the song gains force as it unfolds, revealing itself to be a romantic dream in which Vienna allows herself to be swept away by a mysterious man (one who probably gets her all tongue-tied in real life). What she wants is rather obvious as she sings "Overcome me, baby" again and again in the chorus, but it's much classier than it might seem when just reading the words - the music paints a fairy-tale like atmosphere and the words are rather oblique throughout the remainder of the song. (This approach is preferable to how Dave Matthews might describe such a scenario.) At five and a half minutes, this is the longest track on the album, and at times it seems like it's coming too early at track two, but it's so delicate and delectable that I don't mind all that much - she manages to keep her words and melodies from being predictable throughout the duration of it.
Gravity Don't you believe them
Don't you drink their poison too
These are the scars that words have carved on me...
Momentum, Gravity... is this girl a physics nerd or what? (Actually, she majored in computer science... go figure.) Vienna starts this off with a lavish, rolling piano solo (think Coldplay's "Clocks" in reverse", and once again she employs the softer side of her voice as she beckons, "Hey Love, is that the name you're meant to have, for me to call?" It's a song about two estranged lovers, one of those couples who breaks up and gets back together again then breaks up again. (Vienna is actually singing from the male point of view here, though it's never specified in the song - apparently the guy in question was the boyfriend of the girl who was the subject of "The Tower".) You can hear the pain in Vienna's voice as she pleads for another chance, and encourages the wounded lover not to listen to the harsh words of those who would tell her to let him go for good. The two of them seem to always come back together, one being a "constant satellite" to the other's "blazing sun". The drums can be a little intrusive in this one, though they do a slightly better job of fitting in rather than keeping a steady but boring beat.
Daughter And you're talking about things
Interesting, just slightly
And things that matter too much
To say any way but lightly
Another solo piano piece shows up here, and it's the first of a few songs where Vienna touches on the subject of family. The melody alternates between light, tinkling notes during the verses that just hang in the air, and a lower, fuller accompaniment during the chorus. Vienna seems to be describing an uneasy exchange between a girl and her mother - perhaps this is one of the songs where her Asian-American roots come into play, because parents in Asian cultures tend to be known for having expectations that are never quite fulfilled. It's as if the girl doesn't quite know how to respond to her mother's questions, so she does her best to smile and nod and say "Yes, ma'am". And amidst all of the awkwardness and perhaps frustration, she can't help but realize that "you're so beautiful, on the edge of summer". She knows that the time will come, perhaps soon, when she has to say goodbye, and she doesn't want to have to regret a lack of communication between the two of them when it's too late to go back and change anything.
Between No pleasing drama in subtle averted eyes
The swelling fermata as the chord dies...
The force that this song exerts is just plain gut-wrenching. It begins with programmed drums beating out a 3/4 rhythm, and then Vienna's piano and voice begin to build the framework for a cold, detached waltz. "We are not together here," she asserts with a tinge of regret in here voice, "though we lie entwined." A couple is once again the focus of the song, but this time there is a mysterious "third one" who keeps getting mentioned, the unnamed person or thing that seems to be coming between the two of them. Backup vocals are utilized to great effect during the chorus as Vienna laments, "There once was a time I was sure of a bond/When my hands and my tongue and my thoughts were enough", and the song just swirls around the listener, not allowing any escape from the despairing prophecy, a moment that is part goth and part Enya. I haven't figured out who this third one is - perhaps there's a love triangle at work here, or perhaps the couple is dealing with a birth or pregnancy, and realizing that they've become emotionally detached from each other in the process. Whatever the case, it's got a haunting quality akin to some of Evanescence's better songs (minus the crunchy guitars, of course).
Say Uncle I recall last time we met you said we'd meet again
The irony is only bitter now...
Another "family song" shows up here, and from the curious title you might expect a song about young boys bullying each other around, but I think it's actually about an uncle, perhaps one of Vienna's. The melody is a bit brighter here, but there's still a melancholy tone to the song when it becomes clear that it's an attempt to sort out feelings after the loss of a loved one. Apparently the uncle in question was taken too soon, killed in a car accident or something like that. The song is Vienna's attempt at a eulogy - "The body gone, we shall keep the man." Not one of the immediate standouts on the record, but still a quality track with an overall hopeful tone to it, since Vienna seems determined to learn from this death instead of just allowing it to depress her.
Drought Summer move forward and stitch me the fabric of fall
Wrap life in the brilliance of death to humble us all...
This song hints a little more at Vienna's "new age" influences (I hate to use that term to describe a musical genre, but what can I do?) Much like the opening of "Momentum", the piano is quiet and fluid at the beginning of the song, and as she sings the poetic line "Summer move forward, and stitch me the fabric of fall", you can easily picture those autumn leaves blowing in the wind. This song seems to be an aural snapshot of a "dry season" in a person's life, when they feel like they're not learning anything, their dreams are dying out... they're just stagnating and begging God to close this chapter and open the next one. Vienna doesn't appeal to God directly here (and I don't pretend to know what her spiritual leanings are), but much like Sarah MacLachlan, she seems to find comfort in the idea that angels are present even here, and that perhaps there's something inside of herself to be found during this time. Vienna's gift for melody really shines through here, and unlike her equally talented counterpart Corrinne May, she seems to spend more of her time in minor key mode.
Enough to Go By It was years ago, God knows
When you strained to tell me your whole truth
That you were not mine to save
That you could not change...
This might just be the most straight-ahead, "pop" sounding number on the album. It's still filled to the brim with rich piano playing, but once again the drums are employed to give it more of a radio-ready feel (something which in this case seems to hinder Vienna slightly). Here some truly intriguing lyrics are married to a melody that honestly doesn't interest me as much. Vienna seems to be struggling to find the words to say a friend who is confused, perhaps regarding matters of spirituality. I hate to keep making comparisons to Sarah MacLachlan, but I'll go ahead and point out that this one really reminds me of "Adia", since both songs seem to deal with a character in need of "saving". Rather than shrugging it off and assuming that "We are still innocent", though, Vienna simply seems to want the person to engage the difficult soul-searching and not ignore their burning questions. She admits to her friend, "I'm wanting your anger/I only want to see if I can shake you out of sleep/And bring you out under this flooded sky at any price."
Unwritten Letter #1 This, your face now in the glass
Breathing whisper, what is this
Bent so close we nearly kiss
Although we never will...
Vienna really throws a curveball with this one - basically she wrote the classic "He loves me not" song and then decided she shouldn't take her moping around so seriously, so she set the song to a playful, tango-like tune in an attempt to make fun of herself. The result is the most upbeat song on the album (though it still has a light touch which keeps it from being jarring when compared to the songs around it), with tight percussion appropriate to the chosen genre, gentle strokes of electric guitar in the background, and a thrilling violin solo just to top it all off. In the midst of it all, Vienna meanders up and down her keyboard while grieving over the terrible news that she is forever meant to be "only your friend". Of course the language here is still very poetic - this isn't something a 16-year-old girl would write in her diary, though the emotions driving it are probably pretty much the same. Listen for a brief but oh-so-cool vocal breakdown in the middle.
Eric's Song So we just hold on fast, acknowledge the past
As lessons exquisitely crafted
Painstakingly drafted to carve us as instruments
That place the music of life...
A well-timed love song is up next, this one utilizing a 9/8 rhythm that keeps its verses in a quiet holding pattern. I'm not sure who "Eric" is (though there is an Eric Miller who contributes bass and programming to a few tracks on this album), but I get the feeling that Vienna wrote this song from the point of view of someone by that name who was madly in love, or had someone madly in love with him, or both. It's almost a "wedding song", though Vienna did a good job of mixing her darks and lights to keep it from being too sappy. She ponders the depth of feeling that two people have for each other, and she is perplexed at how easily they can fit together when they seem so different on the surface. She weaves together some gripping lines here, proving that there are new and effective ways to describe a timeless subject. One such line is the very realistic but encouraging observation that "We don't realize our faith in the prize unless it's been somehow elusive". There is one point during this song where she cries out "Yeah-yeah-eah-eah" and her voice falters a little bit (she doesn't have as powerful a set of lungs as some of the counterparts I've mentioned), but it's really no big deal. You could always view it as emotional realism winning out over the need for the perfect vocal take. It's a minor trifle.
Soon Love Soon We will find illumination in unnatural light
You will travel a thousand miles without leaving my sight...
The soothing chorus of voices that opens this song breaks in a bit suddenly after "Eric's Song" trails off - it's one of the few points where the record doesn't flow as well as it could. Disregarding that, this song is an interesting attempt to fuse Vienna's piano-based singer/songwriter persona with the Afro-Cuban music she was studying when she wrote it. The result is a reverent call and response, where the chorus sings "Soon love soon, hmmm-mmm..." over and over while Vienna inserts her lyrics in between. It's as if she's singing to a child, telling them tales of a land where peace and love abound and there is no need for war or hunger. It's got a Gospel-like tone to it, and unfortunately, that takes a left turn into the extremely new-agey chorus, "And we will be as one god/And we will be as one people". It's an interesting experiment, what with the slightly ethnic percussion and all, but overall it's too understated to make as much of an impression as most of her other songs.
Lullabye for a Stormy Night Little child, be not afraid
Though storm clouds mask your beloved moon
And its candlelight beams still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight...
This song seemed like one of the more "ordinary" piano ballads at first, but the more I've listened to it, the more I've come to love it. This one definitely has the wistful, childlike innocence that Corrinne May manages to pull off so well. As its title suggests, it's a song written for a child, though in Ms. Teng's typical fashion, the child is imaginary. She wrote this one when she herself was scared during a powerful storm, and she imagined trying to calm a small child as a means of distracting herself. What resulted was a beautiful affirmation of the grand design in nature, how "The same rain that draw you near me/Falls on rivers and land/And forests and sand/Makes the beautiful world that you see/In the morning." A young girl shows up and sings the last chorus with Vienna, as if to indicate that the child has now been calmed and feels safe - it may be a little too Mary Poppins for some listeners, but I thought it was a nice touch.
Decade and One Ebony glowing by the window there as always
Fingers kissed the keys oh so tenderly
Cool ivory returned in kind...
The album's final song is a bit of a difficult one to unravel. Vienna is once again writing from a fictional perspective, the point of view of a thirty-one year old woman (she's still in her twenties) looking back on her adult life so far and what it all means. The song has a sparse feel to it, and the tempo seems to change with each verse, indicating a sort of tense uncertainty. It's as if she's imagining herself in a few years, still searching her soul by writing songs in the middle of the night, still living her life vicariously through imaginary characters that take on a life of their own. It has its beautiful moments, but overall it wanders a bit too much for me to enjoy it as a cohesive song. The way it trails off really leaves me wanting more, but I suppose that at thirteen tracks, with most of them being exquisite, I can't ask for much more than that.
I always love it when a young artist puts out a debut CD that showcases a lot of talent and an uncanny ability to reach into my soul and rephrase some of my feelings for me, and yet leaves me with the feeling that there's much more potential to be explored. Vienna has accomplished that here, and those qualities make Waking Hour the aural equivalent of watching a beautiful sunset in some exotic locale. Listen, and be transported.
ALBUM WORTH:
The Tower $2
Momentum $2
Gravity $2
Daughter $1.50
Between $2
Say Uncle $1.50
Drought $2
Enough to Go By $1.50
Unwritten Letter #1 $2
Eric's Song $1.50
Soon Love Soon $1
Lullabye for a Stormy Night $1.50
Decade and One $1 TOTAL: $21.50
Website: http://www.viennateng.com
(Visit here for free mp3's of the full songs "The Tower", "Gravity", "Between", and "Lullabye for a Stormy Night", as well as clips of most of the others!)
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