I found this band a few months ago. They are from 河北 and make hauntingly beautiful Chinese folk rock. Not only do they incorporate the usual band mix of instruments, but add violins, trumpets and harmonicas. They have a Chinese flavor, but it’s devoid of the pop fluff that is often heard in Chinese pop music. Not only that, but their lyrics are amazing. Very advanced for a Chinese learner, but it’s just so poetic and beautiful.

I’m sucker for this kind of music. It might be a bit sad and melancholic, but I enjoy it. Western equivalents would be City & Color, Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver.

An example of the beautiful lyrics:

如此生活30年 直到大厦崩塌 云层深处的黑暗啊 淹没心底的景观

It’s advanced yes, but it’s just so evocative. Some of their other songs have words like 夜幕, 眼底 and 归途. Here’s another song:

I’m sure others might find the music a bit too draining, but I feel that you don’t find Chinese music like this very often. Most sing of butterflies, wings and love. Introspective and poetic lyrics like this are great. It’s probably because I’m a big Leonard Cohen fan, that this music sits well with me. It also makes me just love the Chinese language so much more, because it shows just how beautiful and poetic it can be. Not that it isn’t, just that it’s possible for a group twenty-somethings to sing about topics that are complex, but portrayed so beautifully with the succinct Chinese language.

Now where can I find more of this? Where are the young Chinese poets? Where are the ones that sit at night bogged down by the pressures of Chinese society, scribbling in the margins? I feel that Omnipotent Youth Society are a part of this idea and now I’m yearning for more.