LogFAQs > #954507877

Exhaustion 3
Toucan Tarsand
EVENK

A really spirited track (HEH) for setting out on a big new ADVENTURE on a TRAIN. The flute is the train's whistle and the low strings are the steam puffing out and the banjo is the wheels going around. It's a great track, almost startlingly so; I don't remember liking it as much as I do. It's got some great movement and the train takes some cool turns at 0:38 and even moreso at 2:19, where it feels like it's coasting along the view of some beautiful vista, like Kiki from Kiki's Delivery service seeing the ocean for the first time.

Exhaustion 3 is probably the track I listened to most during nominations, the one I kept coming back to even as I was telling myself 'you should really be using this time to listen to more nominations'. VGMC15 noms wasn't the first time I heard this track, but at that moment it resonated with me more than any other track. I turned it on one night, during some late-night work, and kinda got lost for a bit in its mood and atmosphere, soaking in it. For a window of time, nothing captured how I felt about, well, about a lot of things, better than this track. It's something I won't forget.

The comparison to the original is inevitable. I think the original is more striking in a few key ways; the vocals in that version are so devoid of emotion, that it's unnerving, almost alien, and the different aspects of the accompaniment-- the strange vocal manipulations and weird distorted string elements at 0:34 and other places really enhance the feeling of darkness in the track. The vocals are mixed to be right in your head, like the song is whispering its emptiness directly into your ears. It's one of the most awesomely cold and empty pieces of vgm I've heard. It's the song of someone with nothing left.

Exhaustion 3 trades that in for something different. The vocals are coloured with a bit more expression, the piano and keyboard elements add a touch of warmth. The intent of the original is scaled back a bit; it feels less empty, more weary, a little sad, a cry of hopelessness, more blue than grey. The transformation is touching, more relatable, even if it loses the ruthlessly effective approach of the original. In the original, the singer is clearly alone, all of the voices in their own head; here, it feels like there's more, commiserating. This version covers a broader spectrum of how I can feel. The way it ends, piano fragments, whispers, the hint of a heartbeat and a clock, seem to say something to me, something that flickers and fades, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

This day really gives me VGMC Throwback Monday vibes-- Full Steam Ahead and now this. They're good throwbacks! It's ironic I talked about the sea in the Full Steam Ahead writeup when this track is here. This gives me more seaside cafe vibes in a small picturesque city. It's such an easy track to like; those surprisingly thick bass hits give the track body at the beginning, the voices in the chorus give it a welcoming feel, and of course it shows off its accordion list eligibility all the way through. It's just a great example of VGM in this style.

Toucan Tarsand is such a weirdly immersing track; it almost throws me off-balance. It really hits the feeling it's going for, like I'm playing a tropical island version of flOw or Flower, wandering around slowly, then growing in scope and excitement, additional stimuli appearing and disappearing, each with their own imagery. It's a track to imagine worlds to-- sunny worlds, teeming with wildlife.

Balance Slays the Demon is so hammy, in all the right ways. This feels like the kind of track I'd love to belt out the chorus to at some karaoke place with my friends, like it's Livin' on a Prayer or something, and we'd all do the spoken sections in an over-the-top growl.

Man, I miss that feeling.

EVENK has layers upon layers to look at-- well, listen to-- and then try to peel away, to find other layers to examine. zzzv's compositions always feel deceptive in their depth; there's a few things to grab onto right away-- here, it's the 5+4 organ pattern, but it grows in intricate, almost labyrinthine ways that still make sense musically. It's something to revisit, and still find new things to enjoy about it.

What a great day of music.