Prune Deer 話梅鹿 – Return 返信 ft. harunemuri (春ねむり)
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Hong Kong-based rock group Prune Deer (話梅鹿) made their return last week with their brash single “Return,” featuring a very familiar voice in the Asian indie scene: Japanese experimental musician harunemuri 春ねむり (Haruna Kimishima). Though the two up-and-coming groups come from very different countries, “Return” manages to find the best of both genres, creating a solid sonic mash-up between Prune Deer’s uplifting instrumentals (2018’s Chemistry) and harunemuri’s playfully experimental style (2018’s harutosyura).
Prune Deer performing with harunemuri. Pics from Twitter.
“Return” is a forceful, spoken word tornado of a song, driven by Kimishima’s life-affirming vocals that drive its narrative. Those head-spinning moments on harutosyura, from the frantic vocal remixing to the rapidly rewinding vocal delivery, shine even brighter against Prune Deer’s grand instrumentals. “Return” exists on an epic scale–as the collapsing drums and guitars threaten to create chaos, Kimishima adds to the fire by spitting challenging lyrics like “Don’t know that my life has withered during sad times / Don’t want to hurt anyone / So I kill everyone’s melody”. In an instant, the tumultuous world they have birthed a new life of its own, creating beauty amidst the chaos.
Even more captivating is Prune Deer and harunemuri’s joint music video, which channels a lo-fi aesthetic and artful guerilla camerawork of both groups in Hong Kong. Though it’s not technically pretty to look at, there’s a disorganized messiness here that finds wonder in even the most blurried of shots.
As the shockwaves of sound and destructive vocals tide you over, “Return” is an unflinching reminder of the power of these two wildly different bands, and the astonishing beauty they can achieve when they work together.
Prune Deer Artist Pages: Bandcamp | Spotify
harunemuri Artist Pages: Spotify | Website
Li-Wei Chu is the chief editor of From the Intercom. When he’s not editing drafts and searching for new artists to cover for the website, he loves watching cult films, cooking, and listening to his ever-growing collection of vinyl records. You can follow him on LetterBoxd and make fun of his taste in movies here!