Serj Tankian Revels in Elasticity
Serj Tankian revels in the elasticity of his voice and music on his new EP, highlighting his desire to continue his artistic pursuit to shine the light of justice with his music.
The title of Serj Tankian’s new EP is aptly indicative of many things about Serj Tankian as an artist. His solo music revels in a certain elasticity that the music of System Of A Down does not. Over the course of four solo efforts Tankian has written music that ranges from hard rock to symphonic-in fact 2013’s Orca IS a symphony. He even indulged in electronic music on 2010’s Imperfect Harmonies. At its most basic though, Tankian’s defining elasticity remains, and will always be, his vocals. On Elasticity, the music sticks mostly to the type of hard rock/nu metal that defines the majority of his solo work, but his vocals demonstrate a range that seems to get even wider. Honestly, this should be no surprise, afterall Tankian’s main instrument is his voice, and he is a master of it. Nevertheless, the depths and heights he stretches his vocal limits to continue to astound.
Tankian’s vocal range is fully demonstrated on the EP’s first track “Elasticity.” Rising and falling through pitches and ranges that change seemingly from word to word, Tankian puts on a powerful display of vocal ability. There’s no hard rock/metal singer performing right now with a range that even comes close to Tankian’s. The album’s second track, “Your Mom,” exchanges extreme range shifts for the kind of quick vocal articulation that only the best of rap artists display. Staccato vocals of the type that Tankian often indulges in are an example of his rare ability to quickly and comprehensively vocalize complex lyrics. In “Rumi,” a song named after, and in which he directly addresses, his son, Tankian sings with the type of emotion and steady tenor that demonstrates an emotive mastery of mid range vocals. His tone is instructive and constructive, as well as enlightening, and, most importantly, loving. “Rumi” is a powerful testament to his desire for his son to live a just and active life that holds a love for his fellow man and justice at its core.
It would be remiss of any review of Tankian’s music, and its aural elasticity, to fail to mention the one thing that has remained inelastic in his music: its social and political consciousness. Tankian continues to remain a spokesperson for justice and equality on both a social and political level through his music. His unwavering commitment to furthering a progressive and justice centered agenda in his music is the perfect counterpoint to the elasticity of his voice and overall musical approach. “Electric Yerevan” directly addresses atrocities committed in his grandparents’ native homeland of Armenia and “Your Mom,” directly references atrocities carried out by an unnamed, but easily discerned, terrorist group in The Middle East. “How Many Times” speaks for itself, especially as we once again as a nation ask the question “how many times” will we be held hostage to gun violence as a society. Tankian’s concern for political and ethical justice isn’t limited to situations as it pertains to the various situations in The Middle East. The instructions and hopes for his son expressed in “Rumi” are universal and transcend the nexus of the political and social.
Elasticity is a complete composition from a masterful artist. To his long-term listeners, the quickness with which it passes by is somewhat disappointing. Such listeners will want to hear more. In the age of the popular decline of the LP though, the EP has become ascendant. Short, sharp statements that arrest the listener now dominate in our attention-deprived society. They are what most arrests the attention of an ever-moving audience. Elasticity certainly arrests your attention. Add a mastery of the short player to Tankian’s artistic abilities.
