{"id":43296,"date":"2021-06-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=43296"},"modified":"2021-06-07T03:46:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T07:46:51","slug":"my-life-as-ali-thomas-peppermint-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/my-life-as-ali-thomas-peppermint-town\/","title":{"rendered":"My Life as Ali Thomas Let Their Sound Wander Through Peppermint Town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-43286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS-324x216.jpg 324w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS-416x277.jpg 416w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI totally didn\u2019t think the band would get this far, and now I have to explain it and I feel kind of silly explaining it,\u201d says \u2018Pie\u2019 Kanyapak Wuttara, vocalist in dreampop trio My Life As Ali Thomas. She\u2019s referring to the name of the band; to create the powerful storytelling they do both sonically and lyrically, Pie needed a level of separation from her musical persona, and landed on \u201cAli Thomas\u201d as a play on the word \u201calias.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based in Thailand, the band formed serendipitously in 2014 following an impromptu jam session between Pie and guitarist \u2018Rack\u2019 Wipata Lertpanya which led to their first gig together as well as meeting drummer \u2018Taw\u2019 Wannaphong Jangbumrung. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of lucky. My friend called me saying \u2018I have a guitarist who would really suit your music\u2019 around the time I was kind of giving up on music,\u201d Pie recalls. \u201cAfter we jammed, the owner of the shop we were jamming in was like, \u2018I\u2019m just going to book you for a gig.\u2019 It tumbled down from there and now we\u2019re on our second album.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Released via Warner Music Thailand, <em>Peppermint Town<\/em> serves as the sequel to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/album\/73Ful0q2t6NtMsIhpDbAsj?si=6sAqS9H6TEWcJBboJy4HZw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Paper<\/a><\/em>, the band\u2019s 2016 debut. Opting to experiment this time around, they visit indie folk, post-rock, pop rock, and more, the album\u2019s themes encompassing self-confidence, loss and love led by Pie\u2019s ethereal vocals and visual storytelling. \u201cThe first album was kind of like meeting Ali Thomas, but the second is Ali Thomas taking everyone back to her house,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a lot of fun making it but it was challenging too. Sometimes you can make really abstract music and it&#8217;s how to make that abstract style work in a song formula as well as stretching the boundaries between a cinematic soundscape or a movie soundtrack and a song.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/1lWfFE072C2tAMXYu9AHU7\" width=\"300\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allow=\"encrypted-media\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening with transcendent, sunset-tinted \u201cOne Way Ticket,\u201d the band play with the theme of fantasy, the disconnect between the reality of life around them and the limitless potential of the worlds we create for ourselves in our imagination. \u201cMy Red Golden Sun\u201d shows off Pie\u2019s narrative style as she picks apart the breakdown of communication between herself and a former partner. Handclaps and softly strummed guitar lend a sense of nostalgia and distance, heightened by Pie\u2019s breathy vocal tone as she sings, \u201cWhy did you run away?\/Left me faraway\/Lost in foreign ways\/My love, you were mine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wrote it after I\u2019d just gotten out of a relationship,\u201d Pie explains. \u201cI was at a really low point in my life. Sometimes when you find love it can be bad but it shouldn\u2019t stop you from looking for a new horizon. Music wise, I thought of going to a better place which was going back to the mountains, for me, so we pushed the drums way back sonically to see how it echoed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The trio demonstrate their fearlessness in the sound they create and throw themselves headfirst in experimenting with multiple genres and pushing sonic boundaries. This trait is My Life as Ali Thomas\u2019 signature move, a trump card that they\u2019re always ready, and more than willing, to play. Nowhere is this more evident than with \u201cRinn,\u201d a heavy rock anthem for the socially anxious. \u201c\u2018Rinn\u2019 is about exploring your inner villainy. You can be yourself, but at what cost? We\u2019re always conscious of other people\u2019s feelings\u2026 but \u2018Rinn\u2019 is you being yourself without the cost,\u201d Pie explains. \u201cThe lyrics aren\u2019t that dark, but it\u2019s got that energy of never caring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOcean\u201d takes this experimentation to another level. The longest and most cinematic track on the album, \u201cOcean\u201d incorporates orchestral instrumentation and melds it with Rack and Taw\u2019s energy-packed performance. \u201cIt\u2019s a whole world! The song feels like a spell to me &#8211; it doesn\u2019t really feel like I\u2019m singing. I feel as though I\u2019m chanting almost,\u201d Pie says. \u201cIt took forever [to make]; it started off with four chords and my voice and then I was just thinking back to being on a boat ride and seeing the ocean. I\u2019m fascinated with that element. Water can be so loving but it literally can kill you. I wanted to capture that &#8211; how powerful it can be &#8211; and my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere on the album, \u201cBaby, I Love You\u201d explores themes of trust and connection to a poppy, romantic beat. \u201cLuna Blue\u201d soars with sonic explosions of strings that whisk away the listener to a feeling of emotional freedom. Acoustic guitar creates a softer foundation for \u201cPitch Black\u201d as Pie communicates a need for sanctuary. \u201cDream Lover\u201d picks at the concept of the intensity of romantic love and wanting to preserve the good, whereas \u201cDear All The Universe\u201d sees the band utilise their indie rock roots to create an uplifting bop perfect for the summer. \u201cTears of a Clown\u201d explores \u201850s sonic elements, incorporating more background vocals and brass instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each track on <em>Peppermint Town<\/em> is filled with a multitude of elements that on paper might look disparate. But My Life As Ali Thomas weave their influences seamlessly, while twisting them slightly to reveal a never-before-seen underbelly. Rife with sonic experimentation, raw lyricism, and cinematic beauty, it\u2019s impossible to not love this album &#8211; <em>Peppermint Town<\/em> contains some of the band\u2019s most evocative music to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Follow My Life As Ali Thomas on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mylifeasalithomas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mylifeasalithomas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a> for ongoing updates.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI totally didn\u2019t think the band would get this far, and now I have to explain it and I feel kind of silly explaining it,\u201d says \u2018Pie\u2019 Kanyapak Wuttara, vocalist in dreampop trio My Life As Ali Thomas. She\u2019s referring to the name of the band; to create the powerful storytelling they do both sonically [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":43286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[573,305],"tags":[2856,591,12264,3747,12265],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ALITHOMAS.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43296"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43307,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43296\/revisions\/43307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}