With their very own “Hidden Place” recording studio buried deep within the ancient temple grounds in Osaka, you could say there’s something magical about alternative rock band TAMIW. A definite alchemy occurs when the band members pick up instruments and perform music together, and if you need proof to the chemistry they share, you need only pick up one of their records. Formed in 2018, the band have released four albums, the latest of which is Farewell Party and finds them continuing their eternal quest to find the perfect beat, and with this release, they might just have found it.
This album begins with A Silent Letter, a track that comes infused with alchemy; it’s a slow builder that emanates as if from a Shinto shrine or an ancient monument. It’s a song that gives no clue as to what is coming next, or even what type of album this is; it keeps the listener in a state of suspended animation and constantly wondering just what is on the horizon. The tones have been specially selected and reach deep into our psyche and resonate on some deep, primordial level and touching parts of our soul that other music fails to reach. That makes the bass rumble, which heralds the arrival of the following Anthem Of Sutra, all the more startling; it’s a sudden sonic shift that takes the listener by surprise and that makes its arrival all the more powerful. The vocals, barely distinguishable, are half-buried in the mix and add a layer of intrigue, and it all conspires to create an album that demands your full attention.
This is an album which reminds me of the Beastie Boys’ classic Check Your Head opus; it has a similar cut-and-paste style, seemingly made by sounds spliced together randomly. However, on closer inspection, we find that Farewell Party has been pieced conjointly like a collage with the songs fitting intricately like pieces of a puzzle to make a cohesive whole. Its genius lies in the fact that the songs can be enjoyed individually or like an old school album and consumed in one sitting. The MC skills on Deep ‘n’ Shallow are razor sharp and the beats are sublime, yet things can often veer into the surreal, such as on A.H.O, where dogs are barking and cats meowing (where the hell did that come from?) and creates an offbeat vibe. Two interludes appear on the album and act as bridges between the tracks, the second of which is a rather sombre affair connecting the quirky A.H.O to evocative closer Overcome, meaning that things conclude on a rather ominous tone.
TAMIW are operating with a creativity and invention, which suggests Farewell Party is just the beginning.
Tracklisting:
1. A Silent Letter
2. Anthem Of Sutra
3. Deep ‘n’ Shallow
4. Interlude 01
5. We are Not Friends (ft.SOMAOTA)
6. Pay Me Back!!
7. Sudan
8. Run the World (ft.SHIMMY)
9. A.H.O
10. Interlude 02
11. Overcome
12. 3 Stupid thieves (CD Only bonus track)
Farewell Party was released on CD and digitally on 14 May 2025 via Niwer Records, the CD version has a bonus track.
