Rachael & Vilray: West of Broadway

Rachael and Vilray’s third album, West of Broadway, with the label Concord Jazz, produced by Dan Knobler, and backed by their band, is a romantic concoction of love, humour, and diatribe that fits perfectly within their brand. To achieve this, they syncretise Broadway Music with West Coast Jazz, which not only promotes harmonious contrasts but also helps accentuate their commentary on Broadway culture. Perhaps also explaining the naming of the album as a pun with the genre names and a nod to off-Broadway culture. 

(Album Cover)

As with past Rachael & Vilray albums, this one follows romantic tones that deeply showcase the authenticity of love. Especially the piece Love Comes Around (a monologue), which features an upbeat rhythm and vibrant conversing horns to accentuate the vocals that optimistically personify love as something that always returns and not something you only have one go at. Or To Change, a bittersweet ode to a lover discussing the persistence of love despite the changes brought by life, is similarly highlighted by soft harmonies and simple rhythms. 

However, the album also features many off-beat pieces that talk about the silliness in romance. Prominently, the song Is it Jim?, features a surreal ballad about someone waking up with a tortoise in place of her partner and then spending the day with him. The playful tone and narrative, with accompanying skipping horns, add to the imagery, casting an almost theatrical vision. 

Similarly, Forever Never Lasts, which features bantering dialogues between a divorced couple, delivered alongside an overly gleeful melody, uses the contrast ironically to create a lighthearted and humorous delivery. All to display another range of romantic messaging, not limited to the formal.

Significantly, the album’s diatribe on the elite of New York is another prevailing theme. My key to Gramercy Park is a monologue from a rich New Yorker, so consumed by her wealth that she is not willing to lose it all “for a man named Mark”. The narrator of the song, not willing to share her key, depicts the unlovable elite of New York (Concord Jazz).  Cleverly, this is humoured by the juxtaposing instrumentalisation which features overly cheerful tunes through vibrant vibraphones, harmonious horns and simple brushing. 

Comparably, the popular single Off Broadway featuring Stephen Colbert is a musical-esque anti-Broadway screed. It starts off with a profound-sounding narration by Vilray and changes into a spiteful commentary on Broadway—an overcrowded, rat-infested place with overrated shows. The juxtaposition is strongest here with jolly and upbeat melodies involving harmonising vocals, swooping saxophones, oscillating clarinets and clackety brushing on top of a hateful invective. This both recalls the album’s central theme and title, and presents a variation in the stylings of the album. 

In the end, after the first track’s dialogue and the many monologues, the album comes full circle in a duet with both Rachel and Vilray called Manhattan Serenade. The persisting soft, slow and staccato melody alongside the romantic lyrics call for a pleasant end, encompassing the stylings of the whole album. 

All in all, Rachael & Vilray experimentally create a body of work that masterfully captures romance and diatribe in music. The synthesis of narrative lyrical structures—like monologues, dialogues and ballads—alongside often softer melodic tones and simple rhythms to compliment or juxtapose, displays the duets’ unique musical stylings and creativity in contemporary jazz. Overall, it makes for an entertaining listen to anyone interested in vocal jazz.

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By Ganim Singh

The Entertainment Department