T.O.K. – Unknown Language

T.O.K. – Unknown Language / 2005 VP Music / 16 VP / http://www.tokworld.com / http://www.vprecords.com / Reviewed 14 November 2005

When “Hey Ladies” starts off this disc, all the praise that has fallen on this act really is shown to be accurate. Imagine Sean Paul, mixed with the catchiness of Shaggy and Black Eyed Peas, and then multiply that result by two. “Hey Ladies” has enough different sections in it to really keep people on the floor, making the sub-three minute runtime of this track sadly too short. This same energy is included with “Solid As A Rock”, but has T.O.K. change their sound again to allow for the inclusion of Middle Eastern influences (in terms of

instrumentation).

The shuffling beat of the backdrop really brings forth the nuance in all the vocals put forth on the track. While each of the songs would perform admirably on any radio or video station, there is something less forced by tracks like “She’s Hotter”. There may be a heavy vocoder use on the track, but as some point there are traditional stylings inherent in this music that near fails to get people moving. Where there is usually no comparison between those acts that play their own instruments and vocal-only acts, one can claim with a straight face that “Unknown Language” would not be half as interesting if the individual members of the band were forced to divide their attention between vocals and instruments. The complex interplay between the vocals themselves and the arrangements on each track is easy to miss, but will be one of the best rewards to befall the devoted listener. The inclusion of something that resembles gospel in “Wah Gwaan” really connects T.O.K. with a more historical sound, even if the intense vocal focus of the act is as current and as cutting edge as possible.

The inclusion of a synthesizer provides a host of different sounds during the track, recalling the pitifully cheesy sound of gospel at some times and a nineties dance track at other times. While the beat of a track like “Survivor” has the current, vaguely-R&B feel to it, one just can’t listen to this track without drawing some parallel to T.O.K and those Maori warriors of an earlier time. Each of the beats present on the track is so authoritative that one could easily confuse it with a stomping foot, while the vocals of the act move at times beyond the simple conveyance of lyrics and tap into something much more primeval. This is very impressive; pick this up well before Shaggy’s “Hotshot”.

Top Tracks: Survivor, Wah Gwaan

Rating: 8.3/10

[JMcQ]