流放地

第三張專輯《流放地》2009 這是一張電影原聲帶，只是電影還沒拍出來。 這是一張違反美好良善之表象的創作，我們稱之為「反」。 如果要保持著反的意志，就要有被放逐的決心。 這個世界乃是最大的瘋人養殖場，而我們都居住在流放地。   Taipei Times CD review (英文) The Peppermints (薄荷葉) - Banished (流放地)/2010 Having been together for more than a decade — practically an eternity for a Taiwanese indie band — the Peppermints (薄荷葉) are showing their age, and in a good way. Their third and latest release, Banished (流放地), is a solid album of guitar-driven rock that dwells on a brooding fascination with mental illness. Lead singer Shine Lin (林倩) says she drew from a personal crisis in writing the lyrics for Banished. She spent time in a psychiatric hospital last year to receive treatment for severe depression, and says “80 percent” of the experience informs the album’s 10 tracks. Don’t let the heavy-handed song titles turn you off. Someone in My Brain (腦海裡的小人) has a sedate, dreamy groove and is convincing for Lin’s detached vocal delivery and the mellow harmonies. On Claustrophobia, which is about a suffocating train ride on the Taipei MRT, the band’s catchy, electric guitar-drenched hooks bring to mind Sonic Youth and The Breeders. The track ends with some playful sound effects by artist and musician Yalin Wu (吳亞林). Lin’s whispery sweet voice sounds both vulnerable and disaffected on For the Dead, a hidden track on the CD and one of the album’s better songs. She sings with pitch-perfect execution, and the band benefited from having the vocals mixed by indie-folk musician and producer Ze Hwang (黃小楨). Although it doesn’t appear obvious, the band says Banished is also dedicated to “society’s disadvantaged.” Lin and drummer Zheng Gae-tan (鄭凱同) served as activists in the controversial campaign to preserve the Losheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院), a home for sufferers of Hansen’s disease that is being torn down by the Taipei County government, and have been outspoken supporters of Aboriginal laborers’ rights. The unsettling mood of the album is carried by macabre tunes like Bala Bala Party (肢解派對), which was inspired by a grizzly murder in Japan. But one has to wonder if the band is pushing too hard in songs like Deja Vu (既視感), where Lin sings in English, “maybe I need a favor/a favor of someone/pushing me to commit suicide.” Taipei Times CD review (中文) The Peppermints (薄荷葉) - 《流放地》(Banished)/2010 在台灣獨立音樂圈，一個樂團若能維繫超過十年，幾乎可說是奇蹟般的存在。而薄荷葉（the Peppermints）正是在這樣的歷程中逐漸展現其歷練——這是一種歷經歲月淬鍊後的成熟，且是正面的成熟。 他們的第三張專輯《流放地》是一張以吉他為核心、架構紮實的搖滾專輯，內容圍繞著對心理疾病的幽暗凝視與深層探索。 主唱林倩坦言，她在創作這張專輯時，是從自身的精神危機中汲取靈感。去年，她因重度憂鬱症而住進精神療養院接受治療，而她表示，這段經歷有「八成」都被寫進了這張專輯的十首曲目中。 別被那些沉重的曲名嚇退了。〈腦海裡的小人〉以平靜而迷離的節奏鋪陳開來，林倩冷漠卻極具說服力的聲線，與和緩的和聲相映成趣，營造出一種既疏離又迷人的氣氛。 在〈幽閉恐懼症後群〉中，樂團用充滿張力的電吉他勾勒出捷運車廂中令人窒息的壓迫感，令人不禁聯想到 Sonic Youth 與 The Breeders 的風格。曲末加入了藝術家兼音樂人吳亞林的玩味音效，更添層次。 〈逝者何待追憶〉是專輯中隱藏的一首佳作。林倩那若有似無、呢喃般甜美的歌聲，在脆弱與冷漠之間搖擺不定，卻以完美的音準打動人心。這首歌的錄音也因獨立民謠音樂人黃小楨的混音處理而更臻完美。 儘管專輯表面上並未直言，但樂團表示《流放地》其實也是獻給「社會上被邊緣化的人們」。林倩與鼓手鄭凱同曾積極參與保存樂生療養院的運動，對抗台北縣政府強制拆除的決策，也長期關注原住民勞工的權益。 整張專輯瀰漫著一股不安與詭譎的氛圍，例如〈肢解派對〉便是取材自日本某起駭人聽聞的分屍命案。但當樂團在〈既視感〉中唱出 「maybe I need a favor / a favor of someone / pushing me to commit suicide」（也許我需要某人幫忙／推我去自殺）這樣的英語歌詞時，也讓人不禁懷疑：他們是否在黑暗之中，推得太遠了？