(06.24.07) Small Sails are an audio-visual collective rather than just a band. This
CD in fact features a video too but I’m going to concentrate on the music,
primarily because my appreciation of visual arts is a bit impaired. For
some reason I can never tell what looks good and what doesn’t. It’s why
nobody should ever ask me for fashion advice!
Ok, so what is this album? Well the best way to describe it is happy
folktronica mixed with some of the post rock feel. But when I say
folktronica I don’t mean the kind of folktronica where someone makes a
glitch track and then chops up an acoustic guitar part in an audio editor
and fudges them together till they nearly fit. I’m talking about
folktronica where the emphasis is on the folk rather than the tronica.
Small Sails are a proper band and that’s clear from the outset, the feel
is very much of a mostly instrumental folk band who heard some Sigur Ros
and liked the sound of it and then heard some Ulrich Schnauss and liked
that too so decided to combine it all together.
So now you know the ideas and feel behind it, so what is it actually like?
Well, thankfully it’s really good!
From the great synth melody of “Aftershocks and Afterthoughts,” the
tempered groove, vibraphone and general tune of “Backside of a Magnet,”
the Sigur Ros-esque vocal of “Farewell Weird Owl,” the great acoustic
guitar parts on “Earthbound with Parents,” Similar Anniversaries continues
to impress with its blend of a summery feel and genuinely honest musical
talent and expression. In short, when you’re feeling down, this is one of
those albums you can put on and by the end of it you’re pretty damn likely
to have a relaxed grin on your face.
Anyone looking for post rock on the more poppy side rather than the
sprawling epic sound should lap this up, as should those who want some
more cohesive folktronica.
Similar Anniversaries is out now on Other Electricities.
