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Thy Catafalque - Naiv review




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Reviewer:
8.1

275 users:
8.11
Band: Thy Catafalque
Album: Naiv
Release date: January 2020


01. A Bolyongás Ideje
02. Tsitsushka
03. Embersólyom
04. Számtalan Színek
05. A Valóság Kazamatái
06. Kék Madár (Négy Kép)
07. Napút
08. Vető
09. Szélvész

I've been waiting a long time for a Thy Catafalque album to make me feel this level of joy.

My introduction to this Hungarian avant-garde act was 2011's excellent Rengeteg, a blissful, jovial effort with folky playfulness combined with a rich, evocative emotional core, helped in no small part by the guest vocals from Attila Bakos. Their next effort, Sgurr, singularly failed to recapture that magic for me, and whilst the next two releases, Meta and Geometria, were far more appealing, they didn't quite offer what I was looking for. Meta was aggressive and somewhat bleak, whereas Geometria had a quite subdued vibe for large stretches. Naiv, in contrast, is exactly I've been hoping a new Thy Catafalque album would sound like since my first encounter with the project.

"A Bolyongás Ideje", with its layered vocals from guest singer Martina Veronika Horváth, moody grooves, and charming lead guitar and keyboard melodies, immediately revitalized my interest in the band after so long. The song, unsurprising given the avant-garde nature of the artist, jumps around a fair bit, with bursts of extremity and bouncier segments slotted in between the more mid-tempo stretches that make up the majority of the song; however, I feel like the transitions are more seamless and different sections are more natural companions within a single song than has been the case on certain albums. "Tsitsushka", on the other hand, is less scattered, with a upbeat crescendoing introduction lasting for a while before taking a left turn into funkytown around the 2-minute mark. What both these songs offer is a real sense of fun, something I've found to be a bit lacking in the previous 3 Thy Catafalque releases, whilst still being delivered with complete conviction.

"Embersólyom", which was given the music video treatment, is perhaps the strongest exhibition of the folk influences that pop up in a number of Thy Catafalque songs, with its flute arrangements and vocal melodies; however, this is a different beast to something like "Kel Keleti Szél", with a less playful and more melancholic tone, and a frantic, bludgeoning conclusion. There are occasional moments of aggression throughout this album, but to a lesser extent than on Meta, and tastefully incorporated alongside what is otherwise predominantly either mellow or bouncy music. This time around, mastermind Tamás Kátai is more focused on the softer side of Thy Catafalque's sound, and in particular in playing around with different folk/world music influences, with later cuts such as "Kék Madár (Négy Kép)" and "Vető" featuring the use of instruments such as the citera and darbuka to good effect. "Vető", the longest song on Naiv is also the most eclectic, covering a large amount of territory in its 8-minute runtime without ever sounding incoherent or forced.

"Szélvész" features what is otherwise a rarity on Naiv, namely guest male clean vocals (provided by I believe Gyula Vasvári), and highlights what I feel is arguably the biggest weakness of this album compared to Rengeteg: the superior quality and greater presence of Attila Bakos on that album. Particularly given how much the instrumentation on this song calls back to Rengeteg, it would've been nice to see what Bakos could have brought to this song, and to Naiv as a whole. That aside, it's a pleasure to truly enjoy a Thy Catafalque effort again after nearly a decade.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 8





Written on 09.02.2020 by Hey chief let's talk why not


Comments

Comments: 14   Visited by: 195 users
09.02.2020 - 19:02
Rating: 9
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
What a fun album
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09.02.2020 - 21:57
Darkside Momo
Retired
Yep, his greatest since Rengeteg. Good review musclassia!
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09.02.2020 - 22:55
Rating: 8
Karlabos
Meat and Potatos
As awesome as his work is, whenever I hear the new stuff I always feel like something is missing because I've heard Roka Hasa Radio...
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"Aah! The cat turned into a cat!"
- Reimu Hakurei
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09.02.2020 - 23:23
Rating: 9
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Personally I would rate it a full score higher but not for any different reasons than you laid out in the review. For whatever reason, this album just caught me hook, line, and sinker, and I'm totally okay with it. It's one of those few contemporary releases that demands my return attention while most of them are mere one-and-done affairs. Thankfully it was gifted this properly fleshed out and detailed review. Well done.
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10.02.2020 - 06:56
Unhealer
Eclecticist
Well after these words I must listen to this definitely. I too like his music but didn't get really engaged with one of his albums since Roka Hasa Radio, so this might do.
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10.02.2020 - 15:45
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
I Never get How this band is so popular outside hungaty, echos od dalriada worked since folk n pagan always does but this...
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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10.02.2020 - 16:20
Rating: 10
lapis lazuli

Dalriada is a plain folk metal band among the hundreds of others. TC might not be your cup of tea but it's unique and adventurous.


Written by Bad English on 10.02.2020 at 15:45

I Never get How this band is so popular outside hungaty, echos od dalriada worked since folk n pagan always does but this...
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10.02.2020 - 16:52
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by lapis lazuli on 10.02.2020 at 16:20

Dalriada is a plain folk metal band among the hundreds of others. TC might not be your cup of tea but it's unique and adventurous.


Written by Bad English on 10.02.2020 at 15:45

I Never get How this band is so popular outside hungaty, echos od dalriada worked since folk n pagan always does but this...


I am taking about language, since hungarian is not of those popular ones
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
10.02.2020 - 17:02
Rating: 10
lapis lazuli

My guess is it gives a bit to the charm, character and obscurity. It's getting rare these days. I personally would love to see more bands singing in their native tongue in a pretty much globalized world.
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10.02.2020 - 17:53
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by lapis lazuli on 10.02.2020 at 17:02

My guess is it gives a bit to the charm, character and obscurity. It's getting rare these days. I personally would love to see more bands singing in their native tongue in a pretty much globalized world.

I prefer germanic languages
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
10.02.2020 - 23:34
Batlord666

Absolutely brilliant album, I'm glad it's getting such good reception. I can understand liking this one the best since Rengeteg - it's the most catchy and fun, even more so than Geometria. Sgurr, in my opinion, is a masterpiece, but it's a demanding and brooding album. Meta is incredible, but it does lack something compared to the rest of his/their discography for me. I feel like Naiv is a bit of a fusion of the sounds Katai has been cultivating since he went solo with Rengeteg - it's a wonderful distillation of those last few albums. It's hard to pick a favorite (though I tend to lean towards Tuno Ido Tarlatt as it was my first), this album is just incredible.
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11.02.2020 - 19:17
Rating: 10
SatanicBlood

I absolutely love this album! Geometria turned me off a bit as it didn't have the effect I've been used to over his discography, not discrediting it full but it didn't scratch my itch.
But this album, BAM, I'm floored by it. Tamas still has it!
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12.02.2020 - 15:58
Oriax

All Thy Catafalque's stuff after Rengeteg I think: "This is the coolest thing since Elvis"

Yet I never end up going back to listen to those albums really

This album IS the coolest thing since Elvis though!
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15.02.2020 - 02:04
Rating: 7
Dark Cornatus
Powerslave
I think i'd say this album is slightly better than Geometrica, mainly for the first song though. It's a little bit too 'all over the place' for me. I much preferred the 2004-2016 albums. I've had at least 3 full listens, and it isn't growing on me.
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