In yet another year presenting itself as a major challenge for virtually everyone, Elasticity, the new EP just released by Serj Tankian on March 19, could be the exact dose of energy and commitment we need.
In these five brand-new songs, in which the Armenian-American born in Lebanon creates contrasting musical atmospheres that meld cultures, always accompanied by rabid and incisive lyrics that alternate with delicate verses.
Always active, Tankian splits his time between his family, collaborating with other artists, painting, alternative music projects, and various political and social causes. With Elasticity Tankian delivers his fifth solo record, on top of the numerous movie and game soundtracks he made between 2016 and 2019.
The first track and lead single bears the same name as the EP and functions as an authentic sonic kick. Tankian shines, strafing words at high speed and displaying one of his trademarks: his onomatopoeic style, surrounded by distorted guitars and magnetic synthesizers. It is a song about rejecting false prophets and using personal power to stop those who incite us to act for their benefit rather than our own.
“Your mum” begins with an emotional melody set to acoustic guitar. In the second strophe, it deploys all its energy inherited from the harshest New metal, though it also incorporates beautiful sections of oud, demonstrating this artist’s musical diversity and Armenian roots. While it sounds odd and even surreal at times, its lyrics are a clear manifesto against the irrationality of religious fundamentalism and its terrorist variants.
With “Rumi”, Tankian perhaps achieves the most emotional and personal song in his entire repertoire, a powerful hymn to fatherly love, justice, and hope for positive change for future generations. It is named after his 6-year-old son and also alludes to the popular 13th-century Persian poet.
The penultimate track, “How Many Times”, is the most epic tune of the entire EP. The inclusion of piano and synthesized strings creates a dynamic soundscape where we hear Tankian’s laments and questions for a god who seems to have completely resigned himself to a world in which men never learn violence cannot be the way to peace.
The record ends with the second single, “Electric Yerevan”, which has the most similar sound to that of System of a Down, the band in which Tankian is the lead vocalist. That’s because his original plan was to include these five songs in one of the band’s album a few years ago, but in the end, it didn’t happen.
The vocalist exhibits once again his great ability to create protest hymns with catchy choruses, in this case addressing the mass protests which took place in 2015 against a 17% hike in electricity rates within Armenia but which surely extends to all popular urban protests that occur periodically on the streets of dozens of cities around the world, as shown in the video released alongside the EP.
Elasticity is a well-crafted EP featuring Serj Tankian in excellent shape as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Full of expressive heavy rhythms and poetic lines, this set of songs achieves remarkable unity and will not disappoint those fans who adore the particular mix of social commitment, critical lucidity, and musical energy characteristic of Tankian’s varied work.
I’m Music Magazine Contributing Writer Emiliano Doldan
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