Godfather of Drone, Dylan Carson, has composed yet another
stunningly beautiful arrangement. The title of the record describes the
album better than any other words possibly can. Carson's guitar emits
light rays which slowly seep down the side of the rhythmic backbone set
by the pulsating drumming. The guitar travels as slowly, like dripping
honey, all through the album, weaving together the piano and drums. As
a finishing textual touch, Grammy award-winning jazz guitarist Bill
Frisell paints in small details above all the other harmonic layering.
At first listen, the melodies stick like honey to the listener's skull.
They are toyed with, altered, and modified until finally repeated and
resolved towards the end of each track. Due to Earth's minimalistic
approach. any subtle difference in the repeating melody is immediately
noticed by the listener. This approach is how Earth seems to paint
those memorable landscapes they are famous for displaying in their
music. Some say it sounds like a deserted ghost town, and others say it
is the sound of relaxation. Personally, the album conveys the beauty of
a sunrise.
I suggest buying the physical album. I downloaded a
copy off iTunes originally, and was appalled by the low-complexity, 128
kbps version. I went out and bought a copy at a local FYE. The
packaging was gorgeous. It came in an outer shell, encased by a smooth,
shiny black casing. The leaflet was made out of the same, smooth
material and contained great photos of the band. I imported my CD into
iTunes at 320 kbps, and can finally listen to an untouched, gorgeous
copy.
Check out Earth on tour now, and you could catch them with
Kayo Dot, Zaïmph (Marcia Bassett of Double Leopards), or Jesse Sykes
& the Sweet Hereafter. 04/25/2008 Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL 04/26/2008 Wexner Center for the Arts - Columbus, OH w/Sword Heaven 04/27/2008 The Dame - Lexington, KY 04/28/2008 Springwater - Nashville, TN 04/29/2008 Bottletree - Birmingham, AL w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett 04/30/2008 The Earl - Atlanta, GA w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett 05/01/2008 Calendonia - Athens, GA w/Fur Elise, Liz Durrett 05/02/2008 Rocket Club - Asheville, NC 05/03/2008 Downtown Events Center - Raleigh, NC 05/04/2008 Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington, DC w/Kayo Dot 05/05/2008 Johnny Brenda¹s - Philadelphia, PA w/Kayo Dot 05/06/2008 Knitting Factory - New York, NY w/Kayo Dot
Nice review Inky - I'm still absorbing it at the moment since I haven't been in the mood much lately but it's the depth and scope of this one that puts it above Hex in my opinion.
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