NITS - Ting - LP - Crystal Clear Vinyl [FEB 7]

LP - Limited Edition of 500 individually numbered copies on Crystal Clear Vinyl. Includes an insert with additional pictures provided by the band.

*Ting* was released in 1992. The band decided to record the songs with mainly piano and percussion accompaniment. Hofstede put his guitar aside, Stips did not touch his extensive library of sounds and samples, and Kloet did not play the drum-set but used orchestral percussion instruments.

Guest musicians were invited for most songs (mainly bass and cello), and on some tracks, ‘Klangsteine’ (musical stones), works of art by Swiss sculptor Arthur Schneiter, were used. These stones could be played with mallets, which explains the title of the album. They could also be rubbed by hand to create a buzzing sound. On the album, the entire band plays the stones, along with Schneiter and friend, Swiss percussionist Fritz Hauser.

The music is often quiet and melancholic but also contains some strong pop songs, including the cheerful “Soap Bubble Box,” inspired by the artist Joseph Cornell, and the Nits classic “Cars And Cars.” The lyrics are often introverted, abstract, and much less immediately understandable than on previous albums.

Tracklist: 

SIDE A

1. Cars & Cars
2. Ting
3. Soap Bubble Box
4. Fire In My Head
5. House On The Hill
6. Christine’s World
7. Bus

SIDE B

1. River
2. Tree Is Falling
3. White Night
4. All Or Nothing
5. Night Fall
6. I Try
7. Yellow Boat
8. St. Louis Avenue