record scratch Gooooood afternoon ladies and gentleman, this is Hibiki FM coming to you live from Jakarta, Indonesia!! Today we have a very special album to cover, one by a local scene member under the group name Harum Manis! Okay that’s enough for the roleplay, this is less of a review and more of a notes of thoughts as I listened to the album, song by song. I’m not a connoisseur of the musics the way my friends are, and I haven’t dabbled in the vocabulary nor history of things to make this a useful review for people, but I do want to take notes and show my appreciation by the only way I know. By sharing what I truly feel.

Tubuh Yang Padam Tersulut:
I love the piano arrangement. Vocal feels super quiet and low. It feels like he’s speaking to me from behind and under, and I wish he would be either a little louder or more in front because I can’t make out what he’s saying. I love the soft drums on the back as strings plays the harmony. I feel melancholic and also I feel like it’s a very good intro to an album? Like it feels like a deep tight hug from a cherished friend who you have not met in a while, in a grieving setting.

Hafalan Luar Kepala:
The voice goes louder this time! It’s still feel like it’s a little too far to the back, but maybe this is the genre and style they’re going for? If so it does feel very intimate. Maybe it’s because I’m using a shitty headphones and should do a re-listen when I can borrow a better one from a friend. Ooooooh that bass line. I love the bass so much these days. I enjoy the fade out very much, sadly I still can’t make out the lyrics, maybe I’ll make an addendum later when I can get the lyrics :<

Gelandang:
Much stronger percussion track. I can actually hear the lyric this time! I must say the arrangement has been very good up to this point, they’re all very well rounded and I love the different focus on different textures. Enjoyed it!

Ku Kenakan Cincinmu:
I love the guitar that shows up every other beat on the left ear, as well as the layering of the two voices, one much lower than the other! There’s a fun piano solo part here, and I think by this point I can sense a general theme in the sound of the album? I don’t know what I can compare it to honestly, I don’t listen to these kind of music in enough of a capacity to have another reference, but I guess it’s similar to the kind of indie songs I sometime hear in the radio?

Seumur Hidup Kan Ku Habiskan:
Yoooo that was a smooth transition between songs! Didn’t realize we’re already at a different song. The vocal in this one feels a lot more melancholic, especially the reff (maybe chorus?) part where the guy goes higher felt real good. This arrangement feels a lot more like the old early 2000s late 90s songs that my mum used to play, the real soft ones. Like you can say this is an arrangement for an Once Mekel song and I can’t tell you it’s not. Love the violins in the background though!

Bangkit Usai Pesta:
This is probably the most powerful sounding song in the entire album due to the amount of drums and cymbals used LMAO. I think it serve as a good climax of the album if that’s what they’re trying to go for!

Baju Pengantin:
Oooh a lady singer! I wish the transition between this and the last song is a lot less noticeable since they were playing a similar kind of beat, but I enjoy the way the voices stacked on top of another.

Overall Thoughts

I really enjoyed the arrangement and the way the instruments got layered upon on top of one another! Maybe it’s because I’m currently listening to the Jazz Fusion group Sungazer and therefore is a lot more sensitive to the way the instrumentations are being done, but I like how Harum Manis played with the instruments that they use, shifting focus from one to another between songs, and ending things off with a strong drum section. It’s probably my first time listening to songs of these nature properly (with attention and desire to talk about it more), and certainly will be finding a few of the songs (Tubuh Yang Padam Tersulut) entering my “soft emo playlist”. Honestly I wish I could have focused more on the lyrics, which I might do on a few other listen, because I feel like there’s a lot of things being said that I miss there, but those are joys that I will give myself for future listens.

I’m looking forward to Proper Reviews from People Who Knows Their Shit so that I could compare what I felt to what other people who have a much richer vocabulary and connection to the history says!