Pleasantry
SINGAPORE, Central Singapore, Singapore | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | INDIE
Music
Press
SINGAPORE - For its debut album, Synapses, Singapore indie pop outfit Pleasantry culled three songs from its sophomore EP _inhabit (Habit, Spent And Owls), and added them to sympathetic new material. So what you get is more of the sophisticated, melodic soundscapes that Pleasantry are well known for within the local indie music scene. Tracks like the opening atmospheric Channels, the highly infectious False Realities, the energetic horn-laden Take It In and the beautifully fragile Swan Song transport the listener into different levels of pop bliss, where the emotional pull of vocals and instruments tug irresistibly at heart strings. That Synapses is an accomplished effort comes as no surprise but it is gratifying to see a band slowly but surely come of age. - TODAY
Pleasantry's newest EP is a rare crystalline jewel.
So lambent are their melodies, you'll marvel at how everything shines.
Vocalist Samantha Teng sounds so bewitched, everyone will fall under her spell.
The first track, the insanely catchy Habit, is the best Sundays song the English indie rockers The Sundays had not written.
Owls rides on an easy dream-folk groove, with the singer's stellar, multi-tracked voice woven into it.
Whether upping the tempo, as in the jaunty Near And Dark, or casting fairy dust in the time-stopping Spent, the band never lose that magical air about them.
If only all dreams are soundtracked by Pleasantry. - Life! - The Straits Times
Pleasantry showed up in the local music circuit around 2010, and the quintet (made up of Samantha Teng, Ahmad Ariff, Isa Ong, Daniaal Adam, and Adel Rashid, who is currently inactive) wowed discerning music folk with their fresh sound that later developed into a charming frenzy of maturity. The apparent sensibility of the band might be attributed to the various other projects that each member was involved in, associated with acts like Lunar Node, Amateur Takes Control, and Postbox.
Inhabit is their latest four-track EP, released two years after Porcelain Lenses. This record does not fail to deliver the same ripeness as before; there’s no lack of technicality that gives each track its shining quality. Such knowledge is essential in producing records such that there’s something for listeners to hold on to – quite simply, there’s something unmistakeably memorable about this entire endeavour.
Midway through the record, one might stumble upon lush instrumentation that carries a hint of Mogwai. Synthesising that and the hazy vocals of Teng, their veteran sound is an aged one, being effortlessly graceful and possessing an ethereal beauty.
There is more layering involved in Inhabit, but still a good balance of vocals and clean melody lines. Owing to the post-punk character of the record, it is perhaps heavier than its predecessor. A lack of definite structure in songs might be this record’s downfall, but really, who wants to lose their raw calibre to an orthodox system of categorisation?
Their lyrical repetitions in “Spent” gives it a certain kind of pensive personality, as Haziq Hussain and Teng’s vocals blend like milk and honey along the lines of “deeper end…deeper end…” Sweet to the ears, the calming effect is achieved with the soothing sounds of polished vocals against the strategic addition of strings from Josh Wei.
Perhaps one might think of Pleasantry as a less rock version of States, and Teng certainly deserves the comparison to Mindy White. Pleasantry is exactly what it is: pleasant, no drama, and a consistency that maintains itself within a defined realm. Rock has no place here, only a ghostly presence in the form of sweet harmonious melodies that are hauntingly beautiful.
Poached Mag gives Inhabit from Pleasantry a 7 out of 10. - Poached Mag
Discography
Porcelain Lenses EP
Self-Released
Released 06 February 2012
Formats: CD, Digital Download
Inhabit EP
Self-Released
Released 21 March 2014
Formats: CD, Digital Download
Synapses LP
Distributed by KittyWu Records
Released 22 August 2014
Formats: CD, Digital Download
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Bio
Pleasantry materialized in late 2010 from the demise of a band, with members Samantha Teng, Isa Ong and Ahmad Ariff growing out of that frame of mind with a desire to have a fresh start in composing and performing music together. Being concurrently active with experimental and post rock outfits Amateur Takes Control and Lunar Node, Ariff and Isa roped in guitarist and drummer Adel Rashid and Daniaal Adam to form the first Pleasantry line-up; a group of long-time friends and collaborators within the Singaporean indie music scene. Influenced by indie pop and rock bands such as Broken Social Scene, Stars, Mew, Givers and Death Cab For Cutie, Pleasantry found a penchant for writing music simple in structure yet intricate in the interplay of vocal and guitar melodies and harmonies. The band’s process of song writing, progressing from informal bedroom sessions to hours of rehearsals in the studio, is open and inclusive, with Ariff, Adel and Isa constantly switching between instruments that kept musical ideas and song writing fresh and spontaneous.
This process culminated in the band’s first release in 2012 - “Porcelain Lenses EP”, a collection of Pleasantry’s earliest work. The EP’s single, “Near and Dear”, showcased the band’s first use of the ukulele, adding a sweet and delicate touch to the release. In support of this EP, the band released a music video for “Near and Dear”, featured in MTV Asia as well as a live-performed and recorded video of the EP in its entirety at the National University of Singapore Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. Since the release of Porcelain Lenses EP, the band has gone on to perform at major local events such as Mosaic Music Festival 2013 and Singapore Night Festival 2013. The year 2014 saw the band’s next string of songs through “Inhabit EP”, a 4-track release produced together with renowned producer Leonard Soosay of Snakeweed Studios, featuring the band’s venture into lusher textures and closer, more intricate vocal harmonies between Samantha and Isa.
In August 2014, Pleasantry released their debut full-length album, titled “Synapses”, at a solo showcase at the Recital Studio in Singapore’s Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. The album stayed true to Pleasantry’s open and inclusive approach to songwriting and music, featuring input from friends and session musicians that allowed an expansion of the band’s sound through the added elements of violins, horns, keyboards and vocals. Inspired closely by the band’s personal experiences and interactions with their surrounding social, emotional and physical environments, “Synapses” featured songs that focused on each member’s deepest intimate details. This album was guided conceptually by the desire to embrace the disconnections and distortions that defines life as we know it – how contrasting perceptions held between individuals, much like Pleasantry’s own approach to music, can fuse despite unavoidable internal disparities to form music that is whole, complete and beautiful.
Since the release of “Synapses”, Pleasantry saw the departure of longtime member Adel Rashid and the addition of Haziq Hussain, a close musician-friend and frontman of post-progressive rock band ANECHOIS in taking up the band’s guitar, bass and vocal duties. With this change in line-up, Pleasantry has performed at The Gathering 2015, alongside highly acclaimed international acts including Belle and Sebastian, Caribou and Temples. Extending their listenership beyond Singapore, the band was selected to be a part of Canadian Music Week 2015, an industry conference and music festival held in Toronto, Canada. To further broaden the band’s North American reach, Pleasantry embarked on an independent tour, with shows in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. In support of this maiden trip, Pleasantry worked in close collaboration with San Franciscan indie pop band Starry Eyed Cadet to produce a Split EP released both digitally and through analogue cassette tapes. In June 2015, the band went on a short London tour performing at The Lexington, the legendary Rough Trade East store as well as for a Singaporean creative, arts and music festival - SG: Inside Out at The Old Truman Brewery.
Pleasantry hopes to continue crafting and experimenting to form their own unique brand of indie pop and rock, with a primary focus on personal and meaningful songwriting that features the lush instrumentation and intricate layering of melody and harmony that has been characterized with their music. The Singaporean quintet also keeps an open perspective to where their music should travel to, always seeking opportunities to expand their craft to reach listeners worldwide.
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