All My CDs, pt. 112: Dreaming Through the Noise

Dreaming Through the Noise - Vienna Teng

Of all of Vienna Teng’s albums I like this one the least, which is to say, I love it quite a bit. A few of the songs that initially prompted me to seek out more by this artist are on this album, especially City Hall, another of those story-songs that sounds lovely but provides a satisfying “Aha!” when you pay attention and finally understand what’s going on. That said, several of the songs here are ones I never quite appreciated, although I may someday in the future. Songs like I Don’t Feel So Well and Transcontinental 1:30 A.M. don’t seem quite as interesting, either lyrically or musically. Plus the smoothe jazzyness of those songs just isn’t quite my style, so if it’s yours, maybe this will be your favorite of Vienna Teng’s albums.

1BR/1BA also has a jazzy style, but for some reason I like it. Perhaps it’s because it deals with a common situation, but not one commonly portrayed in song: moving into a new apartment, and all the little discomforts and adjustments as the place transforms from a laconic ad to a real place with walls and windows and a busted AC to, eventually, a home. “My upstairs neighbors are making sounds that I never want to hear / I hope they’re just moving furnature around and really liking their ideas.”

It also strikes me that this album is a tad darker than the others. All of them have sad songs, but this one doesn’t seem to put as much of a cheery face on them. The love songs all deal with some kind of separation from the beloved, some chasm that can’t quite been navigated, whether it’s of physical distance or mere ignorance. One song’s refrain says “I am nothing without you / but I don’t know who you are.”

Even the mostly-joyful City Hall must end by confronting the possibility of loss: “If they take it away again someday...”

Next: Inland Territory