Tropes

Tropes, the project of German vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Susan Bauszat, wove wordless vocals, guitar, piano, xylophone, auto harp, flute, synthesizers, strings and drum-machines into the gentle, drifting dream-pop of Tropes (Paradigms, 2007). The multi-tracked whispered angelic lullaby of Silence May Whisper swims in a spectral soundscape that eventually expands into a galactic drone. The voice is multi-tracked again in Remnant, that resembles a children's nursery rhyme with grating noises in the background. And the multi-tracking becomes a full-fledged polyphony in the slippery litany of Violate A Star. Each song includes brief sections of austere chamber elecroacoustic music, sometimes at the beginning, sometimes in the middle and sometimes as the coda. Her voice moves with Renaissance grace in Statics but exudes morbid sensuality in the noir atmosphere of Elicit. And she takes her time: What If I Say is a soul-jazz ballad interrupted by anemic pauses, including a few seconds of absolute silence. Like Nico before her, although in a wildly different universe, Susan Bauszat weds her limited vocal range with a deeply affecting instrumental background to paint a disorienting emotional soundscape.