Totem Youth is the fifth album of the German instrumental post-rock band Kokomo. I was so looking forward to it after Monochrome Noise Love, but I frankly had no idea that I would find myself listening to such a compact and solemnly devastating record.
This is an almost dichotomous work that manages to convey a surreal calm and positive sensations even in the most aggressive and intense parts: it is as if there was a constant attempt to control the most overwhelming emotions, also thanks to the outstanding dynamic of the tracks, where in certain moments everything explodes and rages and then returns to being more calm and you find yourself waiting for the inevitable explosion of impending fury. Perhaps the nature of this record is inherent in the name itself: Totem Youth. A Totem is an earthly representation of something divine, full of symbolism; a supernatural element with which primitive populations established a profound spiritual connection. This work is not just a Totem, is a Totem Youth: a symbolic representation of the impetuosity of youth and the inability to control or tame it. I am not a fan of track-by-track review but the monstrosity of this album compels me to do one, so bear with me here!
The first seconds of the album, have an ancient flavor at the limit of the ancestral. A march emerges from afar, remote and forgotten, getting closer and closer until the tension deflagrates and the warm and defined tones of the drums catapult us into the opener, “Sterben am Fluss”. There is an incredible sense of urgency and solemnity in the riffs: the reverberations of the guitars create a truly remarkable atmosphere, an avalanche of wall of sound kept in order by the drumming. This track already defines the tones of the record and it can show right away the quality of the production. The second song, “Hold me closer, unknown dancer”, seems to bring with it the consequences of the devastation that preceded it. It’s like a frightened sensation of quiet after a storm, where you can tell that something’s going to happen soon. In fact the explosion arrives earlier than expected: there’s a perfect balance between the post-metal outbursts and distant, almost faded atmospheres, in which the bass guitar at some point seems to be the only surviving ferryman of a trip to the open sea. There’s a climax towards the end that crushes everything it finds on its way, thanks to very effective drum patterns where it is impossible not to headbang.
“Golden Guns”, the next one, is certainly the most cinematic track of the album. The sense of urgency remains intact even in this calm part: there is a glimmer of light radiated by the sweet tone of a distant reverberated guitar. The calmer section that succeed it descends in a organic wave of epic dramatic vibes in such a natural way here, leading to a more cinematic crescendo driven by the drums that really reminds me a lot of certain atmospheres of This Will Destroy You (in this case The Mighty Rio Grande). Such compositions fully describe the power of post-rock: one cannot help but be enraptured, the order of the drums is transmitted to the listener’s mind. It is as if time slows down and loses meaning, implementing a musical deconstruction in the mind, until the awakening perpetrated by the spatial echoes of the last drum beat. “Melodic Rock Night” also sees the participation of Tom Morris of Her Name Is Calla; the whole track is pure post-rock essence, immersed in massive and melancholic walls of noise that reminded me of an apocalyptic version of Alcest. “Der Vogelmann”, with his 9 minutes, closes the work: there is an almost decadent deconstruction of the explosive and uncontrollable theme of the beginning that seems to fade away, totally overturned in the last minute, which breaks out again when it seemed tamed: if it is not the representation of the Totem of Youth I don’t know what else could it be.
This is an addictive album. It’s amazing how ‘spacious’ it is in the atmospheres but at the same time claustrophobic and lethal. Although it is an overused term, Totem Youth in my opinion is no less than a masterpiece: a blaze of sonic perfection, with tracks extremely dynamic even in the parts where there are overwhelming walls of noise full of glacial reverberations. It is clear that Kokomo had a very specific project when they wrote these songs and in my opinion they perfectly nailed it.
Once you embrace the Totem Youth you can’t go back: this album sets a new standard in shaping a precise type of atmosphere through different shades of sound, mark my words. The tension has never been so relaxing.
(dunk!records, 2019)
1. STerben Am Fluss
2. Hold Me Closer, Unknown Dancer
3. Narcosis
4. Golden Guns
5. Melodic Rock Night
6. Der Vogelmann