Gregor Samsa "55:12" (The Kora)
By Jared Brownell
Friday. Feb 24, 3:56 AM
A minimalistic dialogue of self-reflection.

“As Gregor Samsa woke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.” – Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis

The first time I listened to 55:12, I fell asleep. The second time, it faded into the background. It wasn’t until one of the many rainy Fridays we’ve had here in Chicago (seriously, it shouldn’t be raining in January) that I truly experienced this album: riding late to work on the train with the hushed voice of Nikki King barely audible in my ears while looking at the skyline being decapitated by the fog. While 55:12 may not be the most accessible album, those with the patience to get their heads into it will be richly rewarded with beautifully crafted, minimalist soundscapes.

The band get a lot of mileage out of stark contrasts between the loud and the soft. In “Even Numbers,” you’re slowly guided into the song with a mellow, staccato guitar overlaid with hushed male/female voices. This continues for several minutes and, almost without warning, you’re thrown into a world of drums, loud drawn out guitar chords, and a moaning violin reminiscent of The Kronos Quartet and Clint Mansell’s Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. Gregor Sasma seem to have mastered the lengthy, lethargic moments of hushed tones and muted voices.

In the novella Metamorphosis, the main character that the band are named after is forced to deal with life after he has been transmuted into an insect. Themes of loneliness and society's treatment of the outsider are brought about by Kafka as Gregor is unable to communicate with the outside world, and ultimately confined to his room by his family because of his repulsive form.

Gregor Samsa the band’s songs carry the same themes of isolation and emptiness in their lyrics and stripped down sounds, especially with the mostly inaudible line in “Young and Old”: “Cannot breathe, cannot feel, for me.” Nikki King’s soft breathing on the microphone drowns out and overpowers her lyrics. 55:12 is an album to get mentally lost in. It throws one’s state of mind into a dialogue of self-reflection and questioning of your life and reality.
www.gregorsamsa.com
www.thekorarecords.com

Listen to a song from this album in our Radio section!

Jared Brownell

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