Hania Yiska – Digital Heaven Is Falling: The Very Best Of Hania Yiska
Hania Yiska – Digital Heaven Is Falling: The Very Best Of Hania Yiska – Album Review
What in the cases of already settled law have we got here today? An album from nearly six years ago? Ain’t the verdict from the court of public opinion been rendered on these matters by now?
I suppose another opinion never hurt, but it’s probably never helped either…not if it’s mine. Anyhow. Jeffrey Hull, the man you’ve seen appear on our pages for his solo tunes, in addition to work he’s made under names like Nostalgic Afterlife and Clear Sun, has returned to us again, with some new old tunes.
Like I always say around these pages of ours, if I haven’t heard it yet, then it’s still new to me – let’s go.
Notably, what makes this particular experience different than the others we’ve had in the past with Jeff’s music is that he’s added vocals into these tunes, and if I’m not mistaken, this would be the first time I’ve heard the guy sing. I like what I’m hearing on “Without You” as this best-of compilation begins – Hull sings with an artistic bend that’s appealing to me…arguably a little unpolished, but highly emotive and full of that endearing Indie spirit we all love universally. It works in my opinion, and in many ways, feels like his voice fills in the melody with the ingredient that can often feel missing in his instrumental tunes. I dig the way he’s used layering to his advantage here…and I like that “Without You” isn’t really a typical song you can see coming. It’s a bit on the even side of structuring & such in the sense that there’s not really a main hook beyond what you’ll hear presented at the very start…we’re not talkin’ about the normal formula of verse/chorus/verse here. Which is fine…there are no technical rules you or anyone has to follow in writing a song…and for a first experience, that’ll work out fine; as to whether or not that would continue to work later on throughout the course of sixteen songs…well…stay tuned y’all.
The main issue with any kind of ‘best of’ compilation, is that the margin of error is razor thin in terms of what listeners will accept, and that the term itself is largely subjective & based on the creator’s point of view. Is there a chasm of difference between the allure and appeal of “Without You” and the album’s second track “Unwanted?” Yes. On a regular album, that’s probably gonna happen, and it wouldn’t be too much of a talking point – but on a ‘best of’ record, this much of a tangible drop in the strength of the material can be problematic, even if it’s not fully representative of the entire lineup as a whole. Having a second track come out at unequal or lesser strength than the opening song doesn’t bode too well for the journey towards number sixteen, you feel me? I don’t mind parts of “Unwanted,” don’t get me wrong…there are even parts where Hull sings in a lower key that kind of remind me of the swagger you find in underground stuff like Mellowdrone and whatnot, which works well in his favor. All-in-all though, “Unwanted” feels a bit more like it’s searching for a main idea that it can be centered around, which gives this second cut somewhat of a wandering focus that never seems to land fully on its target.
Musically, I dig what I hear in “Only For You” – Hania Yiska has tapped into something genuinely cool on this cut, from the smoothness of the lead melody to the bubbles and beeps in the background. Vocally, it’s a bit of a mix…some of what he’s singing is going extremely right, and there are other moments that come across a bit flat in the melody he’s looking to create. When it comes to this particular track, I’d say he ends up more on the right side of things than anything else…for the most part, “Only For You” comes out with an engaging vibe and interesting sound to it all, and I’d argue that you’ll also find one of the most memorable hooks of the whole record contained in this cut as well. I still think that Yiska is showing plenty of space to expand each idea to be more dynamic than how they come across…but “Only For You” ends up being one of the tracks you can point towards for fleshing out the ideas a bit more than many of the rest. All-in-all, it could still use a polish, but the ideas in this track are stellar.
I dig the uniqueness of a song like “Don’t Give Up On Love,” but I’d imagine that a cut like this will end up being pretty divided in the court of public opinion. Ultimately, I think that it’s the music that makes this song the most worthwhile to listen to…as for the vocals, I respect that Hania has taken some chances here, regardless of whether or not I feel like they completely work. I really do love the tape-melted-in-the-sun sound he’s got at the core of this song – the music is among the most superb I’ve found in any of Jeffrey’s many monikers. “Don’t Give Up On Love” ends up sounding like he’s singing it with something stuck in his throat…and while I might appreciate that giving this song a bit of a different dimension to it than the rest of the cuts on the album, it’s not a vibe I think everyone out there can easily get behind. Even in the sense that, as a singer/songwriter, presumably he’s spending some time on the words he’s writing…we’re now four songs in and haven’t had a clean listen to any of’em – so you kind of end up having to really dig to hear what he’s singing, or accept that he’s attempting to use his voice in a similar way that you’d use an instrument. For me, the music of “Don’t Give Up On Love” alone would keep me coming back to listen…vocally, I really don’t mind what he’s doing personally even though I’d assume it ain’t gonna be universally accessible…but even in feeling that way, I keep coming back to the conclusion that there had to be a way he could have made this whole idea easier on himself.
“Green Soap” would be a perfect example of a song that would have been a perfect track two. It’s a solid track five, don’t get me wrong, but yeah…this cut works so damn well that I would have put it up earlier in the lineup to quell people’s fears or not take as much risk as having “Unwanted” up at the front. But that’s me – I get the opportunity to be objective, because I didn’t create these tunes. That being said, it’s a skill every artist needs to learn…it’s tough to be brutal on material we create ourselves, and I fully understand that. When you hear something go as right as it is on “Green Soap” though, it’s truly universal – every single one of us can hear it. So it’s equally fair to assume the opposite is just as true – when something isn’t in the right spot, or a part of the melody could be more colorful, or the tone drifts slightly in a song – you can hear that just as much as we can…so fix it, or toss it – you’ve ultimately gotta be that brutal in the context of making a record people will want to repeat. As I’ve said about a million times on these pages of ours, there are about five perfect albums with more than twelve songs on’em…and the moment I see sixteen, I can basically guarantee more objectivity would be needed in order to tighten up the corners. “Green Soap” is pretty much flawless, fully awesome, and absolutely addictive from its energy to its execution…I still don’t know what he’s singing about, but I know I like it.
Case in-point, I’d probably have cut “And I.” This is where choices get confusing to me – we’re once again discovering a massive chasm of difference between a track like “Green Soap” and this next tune. I can make an argument that a different spot in the set-list could have possibly been to the benefit of “And I” – but at the same time, I can’t say we’re talking about the same caliber of song between cuts like this and “Without You” or “Green Soap.” To be completely fair, I think “And I” has one of the toughest spots in the lineup to fill as this album is currently laid out, but it also wouldn’t be fair to how great a song like “Green Soap” is to say that “And I” is on that same level, you feel me? Different ideas and different vibes altogether – I get that – but noticeably different results in terms of the strength in the material as well. “And I” has pieces of a melody I’d be interested in, but it’s also unnecessarily busy with its sporadic electro-beats as well. I think if Hania was to strip all that away, there’d likely be a song here.
As I’ve also mentioned more than a few times in writing these reviews – if you’re not completely sure that you’re adding something, you’re probably taking something away instead. I’d probably take an “And I” before I took a “The Ex I Love” I suppose, looking and listening to it all in retrospect. Hania sounds like he’s gotta keep the volume down while he’s recording these songs, lest he piss off his neighbor next door or something…and it’s costing him a lot of the power he needs to hit the desired tone of the melodies he’s writing. Musically, as “The Ex I Love” started up, I was pretty convinced he’d be on his way to one of the album’s better tunes for a second or two there…and even though I feel like he’s got the beats up too high in the mix once again, I’d probably still have felt that way before the vocals came into play. It’s not so much that he’s singing it bad, he’s just not challenging himself to really rise up to the moment either. It’s frustrating when you have the proof that a guy CAN sing, like we’ve already experienced earlier on, and then you hear performances where you can hear someone just not demanding the best out of themselves. On a recording? Like…those are permanent y’all. If it means you gotta jump back in the booth to do things over again, or altogether differently, it’s always gonna be worth it in the end. I like the ideas at the root of “The Ex I Love,” but they’re also what works against it – it’s like hearing the sound of potential not reached, or an opportunity that wasn’t quite capitalized on.
Diversity is the key. When you’re creating different songs with different parts and different melodies, if you’re approaching all that with the same methods, you’re basically still creating the same thing over & over again. As we get to the halfway point on Digital Heaven Is Falling: The Very Best Of Hania Yiska, we’re quite likely all feeling things drag a bit and questioning whether or not this IS the very best of Hania Yiska as the title would have us believing. “Clench” pretty much has the same core issues that the majority of this lineup has been experiencing…I feel like Hania is vastly overestimating how much listening ears want to hear a singer that doesn’t sound all that into it if I’m being honest with ya. Y’all know I don’t just rubber stamp things here on these pages of ours…I’m not here to hand out belly rubs – I exist solely to assist in challenging people to become the best version of themselves that they can be. I know that Yiska has got more in the tank than what is being revealed to us on this compilation – and a lot of the reason that is, is because I’ve already heard work that is more current than these songs are – he’s taken steps forward in his art for sure, but for some reason he’s got me assessing the past. And he knows what’s going on here with this collection of tunes…like I’ve been saying, his ears work the same way the rest of ours do…so I gotta admit to ya, I’m not entirely sure of his motivation behind this review.
Technique is an important ingredient too. Unless he’s specifically writing his breathing into a track like “Fountain Of The Elderly,” it probably shouldn’t be the star of the show or as noticeable as it is, you know what I mean? It’s difficult NOT to hear it in this song. With the added effects, it’s like he’s suckin’ back a pile of drool before it spills out onto his shirt if I’m being entirely honest with ya…and I can’t imagine a world where that’s the desired sound he’s going for. So…c’mon Jeffrey…what exactly are we doing here brother-man? You’ve read enough of my reviews on your music to know that I’m the first guy in your corner when the effort is being made, even if the results aren’t…but I’m listening to “Fountain Of The Elderly” and wondering where that dedication to the craft has disappeared to. I think anyone that knows me well knows that I don’t want to spend my time pickin’ on anyone, and that I only show my claws when there’s a sincere reason to start scratchin.’ This is one of those moments where I feel like my time could be used more wisely than I’m using it right now. I like the short breakdown in “Fountain Of The Elderly” around the 2:05 mark? That lasts about a second or two. As for the rest, I’m hearing good ideas in the music that are buried by the vocals, and decent ideas in the vocals that are being buried by a lack of the right technique or enough objectivity to pull this pitcher from the mound.
Four songs straight without a definitive win on a best of compilation can feel like an eternity brother. As much as I wish I could report that “In Front Of Me” snaps the streak, I don’t feel like I can do that. It’s all coming down to the strength of the material Hania…I gotta be real with ya man, it’s just not there. I’m not trying to be cruel, I’m just calling things like I hear’em…there are too many similarities from track to track that prevent the majority of these songs from being as memorable as they could potentially be. Even with having spun this album several times at this point, I feel like it’s virtually guaranteed that I’m going to forget most of this material in a week, and the rest of it in a month. I thought Yiska did a solid job in raising the stakes at least a little on “In Front Of Me” before it’s over…and I really enjoyed the spot around the fifty-second mark as well…but we’re talking about fractions of a total song Jeffrey. When it comes right down to it, I know you’re capable of more, because I’ve heard that from ya in the past when I’ve reviewed other music you’ve made. Right now, I’m feeling pretty confident that this record should have been an EP as opposed to a sixteen track lineup. Heck, I might even be tempted to include “In Front Of Me” considering that Yiska does ramp up the energy a little bit towards the end to raise our pulse from the flatline it was potentially in danger of reaching, but that gets no cookies from me though; the standard has truly gotta be set higher than ‘it’s better than not being completely and totally bored.’
We are a long, long way from “Green Soap” at this point. “Of Little Faith” describes me pretty well at this point in the record, and I’m running out of the rest that I’ve got second by second. Six years can be a lifetime in the evolution of an artist – that’s the truth. Again, to be as fair as I can be, it’s only been six years since this compilation came out – but given that it’s a best-of, we can assume the songs are even older than that. Would Hull make these songs today? Probably not if I’m being honest with ya – he hasn’t been. He’s been focused on other outlets of his creativity like Clear Sun and Nostalgic Afterlife, and I’m inclined to say that’s probably where his time is best to spend after having had this experience. Sometimes the past is meant to stay where it is, simple and plain. I listen to “Of Little Faith” and many of these tunes and I can hear how Jeffrey’s natural gift for creating compelling music is still a verifiable part of his history…he’s always had tremendous skill in that regard. Like, listen to the way “Of Little Faith” starts and you’ll know precisely what I mean – he is more than capable of creating tunes that our ears would naturally want to listen to. Vocally, I’m not even suggesting that he shouldn’t sing – because of COURSE he should! But sing with purpose and intent my friend…that’s the real key. Without that, as you can hear throughout this whole selection of songs, things can end up sounding lazy or uninterested, or lethargic or uninspired…and I don’t honestly believe Hull wants to be labelled as any of those things.
Nope. Nope, nope, nope. “Parents Hug” ain’t it dude. I’m like, beyond perplexed at this point. Jeffrey knows better than most that I’m gonna keep it real with him…and I don’t know what choice I have other than to say a song like “Parents Hug” is missing the mark in a wide variety of ways. I appreciate that it’s a tributary track and that it’s got sweet sentiment at the heart of it all – I can even say that I appreciate how clear the vocals come out on this cut compared to every other song on the album as well. I like the effects he’s added to the other half of the vocal sound, and feel like if that was all he was using in this tune I probably would have been able to get behind it and proudly support it. The music’s pretty decent as well…there ARE things about this song that could possibly be rescued – but we’re talkin’ about throwing this cut an actual life-preserver at this point…because there are parts of this song that are destined to drown no matter what happens to the rest of it. So…yeah man…I’m gettin’ weary at this point because I genuinely like this guy, and I’d way rather just support him for creating undeniably great material rather than consistently talk about how this set of songs has drifted way too wide of the mark.
If I end up sounding like a broken record here, touché – what choice do I have? I’m on track thirteen, and so far I’m 100% convinced by one song in this lineup that it should have made a best-of compilation, which is “Green Soap.” There are pieces of songs here and there that have been good along the way, but Hania Yiska has gone straight off his rocker if he feels like he’s represented his best with this lineup. “Ladies Please” showed a bit of promise by using that playfully warbly tone I love that’s found in a lot of Hull’s music…and I appreciate the upbeat vibe this song has as well – but we’re still talking about songs with way too many similarities between them in how the vocals are being delivered track after track. The spot around the 1:45 mark…I can get behind that…but even that doesn’t quite make it to 2:10 before trouble finds Hania again. Then like…the 2:30 mark? What are we doing here bud? I listen to singers like Stephen Malkmus, Robert Smith, Matt Berninger…and believe me, I’d have no problem telling them that they tend to color way outside of the lines at times too, even though they make some of my favorite music to listen to. We can get caught up in the creative process…sometimes it’s only in hindsight that we see things for what they are, or get an outside opinion that’ll tell you like it is. I guess that’s where I come in today for Jeffrey Hull…I listen to “Ladies Please” and I’m genuinely scratching my head wondering how this extremely capable artist has lost the plot to this much of an extent. It’s weird. Normally I like weird…so maybe this is all on me. Maybe I’m becoming normal and no one has told me.
Wow. Just…wow. Where do I start with “Nothing?” I’ll fully admit, it’s more unique than the majority of this lineup by comparison…but I don’t know that it’s unique in the right kind of way that Hania would be happy with. I mean…I guess that’s the thing though, ain’t it? If HE is happy with all these songs, then fuck me, right? What would my opinion even matter for? The only person he ever needs to please is himself…not me, not the masses, not anyone else – so if he digs what he’s come up with on this album, then all the more power to him. Heck, make a sequel if you want to, based on that theory brother-man! I’m never gonna be the guy to tell someone to stop doing what they love if that’s what it’s really all about. I know “Nothing” is not for me, but that doesn’t have to mean it’s not for him or not for YOU – maybe it is, and if that’s the case, rock right on homies. Dance like no one’s watching and all that other great Lifetime-movie/Hallmark advice…I ain’t gonna stop ya, but I will tell you how I personally feel because that’s what I do and no one ends up on these pages of ours without already knowing that’s who I am. “Nothing” is different, I’ll give it that…but it’s a jumbled mess Jeffrey, c’mon. Lyrically, you can hear how much of a strain there is in the metering and flow…it’s not a comfortable performance, which makes the listening experience equally uncomfortable too. Freestyled or not, the result of hearing a dude try to bang the square through the circle hole is still the same frustrating experience, you follow?
On the brightest of sides, you can’t really say that Digital Heaven Is Falling: The Very Best Of Hania Yiska is a step backwards if it was made in the past, right? And that’s a good thing…because otherwise, I’d have to say that it was. I’m on “Lovely Flower” & feeling like I need to go three rounds with my speakers at this point, to vent some of this frustration on something other than Jeffrey. What I’d take out of this experience if I was him, would be to notice that I’ve never felt so strongly about his material not hitting the mark before…ultimately, that provides a lot of validity to many of the things I’ve said about his more current work, and he knows I’m always telling him the truth as best I can. I’d also take that whole lesson of sometimes the past has gotta stay in the past and continue to move forward, like he has been. I didn’t feel like there’s much he could learn from this review that he probably wouldn’t have already concluded himself – he’s outgrown this kind of material, simple as that. To go back and examine it now…honestly, I don’t know how that benefits him going forward – only he’d know that for certain. I could tell him that a track like “Lovely Flower” doesn’t have the colorful production that the song that came right before it did, but it probably wasn’t made at the same time…this is a compilation of tunes that come from different points of a career he’s made a point of clarifying has taken place over something like twenty-five years so far. The music on this record would have been from nineteen years in or even earlier on, but that doesn’t mean his most significant leaps and bounds as an artist haven’t come afterwards, which I’d clearly argue they have. Objectivity remains the most elusive aspect of what Hull creates, but as long as he is personally happy with the results he’s achieving, that’s all that matters.
As “Dear Jeff” finishes off the set, I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ve said all that needs to be said and then some. I could go into the whole importance of tuning instruments…I could make comments on how a lot of his material seems like it’s written in the moment without really worrying about its longevity…but really, I could just say that Jeff knows far better than most what his music symbolizes & what it means to him and leave it at that. Have I made mistakes in what I’ve recorded? Plenty! Way more than most people ever will, and that’ll all haunt me until the end of my days. Heck, my writing is probably the same – I’ve probably made countless mistakes inside this very article you’re reading now, and I’ll kick myself for all those later too. For folks like Hull, these songs he’s making document life like an audible journal of sorts…it’s a different method of creation and art, and if that’s all it’s intended to be, I’m all for it. When you’re putting things out in front of the masses or seeking out criticism however, that’s where things get tricky. I’m not interested in just telling the guy ‘good job’ like all our friends and family would do, because explain to me how that would benefit him? I give real feedback, pass or fail, because in the long run, it’s said with the best intentions. I want nothing more than for Jeffrey to be successful on his terms, however he chooses to define that – and if he already feels like he is, who would I be to tell him any different? Shine on you crazy diamond.
Find Digital Heaven Is Falling: The Very Best Of Hania Yiska and more tunes by Hania Yiska at Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/hania-yiska/312444233
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