Even with her initial, tentative performances while still a student at Stanford, Vienna Teng caused an immediate stir in the California singer/songwriter scene. She self-released her debut LP, Waking Hour, in spring 2001, but consistent Bay Area buzz, strong website sales, and Teng's captivating live show led to interest from Massachusetts indie Virt, which signed her in May 2002. Three of Waking Hour's tracks were then remixed for radio by David Henry (Yo La Tengo; Guster), and an extensive tour brought one of the Bay Area's best-kept secrets to nationwide ears. Teng is an extremely intellectual songwriter who fills the spare moments of her piano-driven songs with wordy unions of personal emotion and reflections on the seasons. While she possesses a powerful voice, it's her command of melody and her subtlety that really stand out on Waking Hour. The Henry-produced tracks -- "Tower," "Gravity," and "Enough to Go By" -- could be considered chamber pop, with their shuffling percussion and lush, quietly surging stings accentuating Teng's gorgeous vocals. At the same time, "Daughter" and "Lullaby for a Stormy Night" are as delicate as hand-blown glass. As heartwarming as the latter song is, where Teng harmonizes with a child's voice on the reassuring line "Everything's fine in the morning/The rain'll be gone in the morning/But I'll still be here in the morning," she's elegantly jaded in the arch, duskily toned "Daughter." "Did you know you're so beautiful on the edge of summer?" she asks in a resolute tone, and the song's slightly mournful yet sure-handed piano line seems to trace the fading lines of a dissolving relationship. After such a powerful yet achingly intimate statement, the processed Middle Eastern rhythms and electric guitar solo of "Between" are a bit overwrought; the added instrumentation tends to dilute Teng's strikingly mature songwriting. But this is by no means a slight, as Waking Hour is a confident debut that's startling in its emotional and intellectual depth, but never too brainy that it loses sight of melody and song structure. Johnny Loftus Tracklist & Credits : 
Friday, January 19, 2024
VIENNA TENG — Waking Hour (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
VIENNA TENG — Warm Strangers (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
It was easy to heap accolades on Vienna Teng's debut recording, Waking Hour, and its impeccable set of songs that overflowed with intelligence and sensitivity. Coming out at a time when plucky, piano-banging youngsters like Vanessa Carlton were upstaging their more reflective predecessors like Sarah McLachlan, Teng's songs kicked up a little wind for all sensitive singer/songwriters. But after the dust of praise finally settled, Waking Hour appeared slightly fragile in retrospect, with songs that were a bit too precious and self-conscious. This may have proven to be a blessing in disguise, as her follow-up disc, Warm Strangers, displays the confidence of a burgeoning artist who had gotten her feet wet and has now plunged headlong into a pool of sparkling songs. Breaking the surface with the uneasy strains of "Feather Moon," Teng takes command with a quiet intensity that immediately bests anything from her debut, as her haunting voice beckons to "breathe in, breathe out," bringing to mind Kate Bush's equally spooky "Breathing." Unlike her debut's quiet meditations that tended to bleed into each other, Teng gets positively upbeat on several tracks. Soothing sea winds are practically felt in the jubilant "Harbor," while the lilting "Shasta (Carrie's Song)" is quite possibly the most musically cheerful song ever written about a trip to an abortion clinic. These diversions help bring more definition to each song, allowing plaintive ballads like "Shine" and "Homecoming (Walter's Song)" to be more memorable and affective than if they were sequenced together. Although Teng's piano still drives most of the songs, the accompanying arrangements are inventive yet unobtrusive. Simple enhancements like the solo trumpet in "Mission Street," or the strummed piano strings in the disc's majestic centerpiece, "My Medea," keep the songs moving forward without distracting from Teng's vocal and instrumental proficiency. The disc starts to meander in the second half, but there are enough interesting moments to keep it from wandering too far off-track, such as the ghostly, a cappella "Passage," in which Teng embodies the spirit of a car accident victim who observes the grieving loved ones she left behind. Also noteworthy is a hidden bonus track whose lullaby-like melody, sung in Chinese, is a mesmerizing blend of Western pop music and Eastern language. With Warm Strangers, Vienna Teng has taken a confident step forward to create a set of songs that are sharper, deeper, and even more enchanting than her debut, proving that her talent and music are worthy of the accolades that continue to stack up around her. Aaron Latham Tracklist & Credits : 
VIENNA TENG — Dreaming Through The Noise (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Dreaming Through the Noise is, musically speaking, more about dreaming than noise, because Vienna Teng's album is never noisy. Instead, she cultivates a dense soundscape comprised of everything from guitars, percussion, and pianos to violins, violas, and string arrangements. The light timbre of Teng's vocals fit easily within this mesh, becoming yet another element in the overall sound. This approach is very seductive on "Love Turns 40," a moody lyric that captures the imagined feeling of an ex-cinema star on the downward slide. It's reminiscent of Natalie Merchant singing "San Andreas Fault," though Teng is less elliptical than Merchant. As attractive as Teng's approach is, it can grow a bit precious on songs like "I Don't Feel So Well," which gives the impression of Tori Amos-lite. There's also a tendency, thanks to the soft arrangements and production, for the material to meld together as though the songs were mini-suites inside a bigger work. These qualities do create a dream-like effect, allowing the listener to commingle with Teng's moods and float along with her songs. There are also some very nice touches, as with the Miles Davis-styled trumpet on "Transcontinental, 1:30 A.M." Dreaming Through the Noise may prove too sedate for some listeners, but Teng has done a good job combining music and mood, lyric and atmosphere, that goes beyond the typical singer/songwriter's method. Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. Tracklist & Credits : 
VIENNA TENG — Inland Territory (2009) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Eclectic indie songstress Vienna Teng continues her enchanting disregard for genre on her fourth album, which ranges from a gospel-fueled stomper called "Grandmother Song" to an arty, Tori Amos-like piano ballad called "Stray Italian Greyhound" to a possible radio hit with the bouncy "White Light." As always, Teng's vocal and melodic gifts are remarkable, making each of these 12 songs a special treat. Guests include fellow young singer-songwriters Ari Hest and Noe Venable and gifted indie pop guitarist Kaki King. Charity Stafford Tracklist & Credits : 
