It only takes a few seconds (or minutes depending on how you lose
yourself in the long tones) of “The Six Million Dollar Sandwich,” the
opening track from The Dead Texan’s self-titled debut, to realize that
you’re in Stars of the Lid territory. The Dead Texan is Adam
Wiltzie’s (one half of Stars of the Lid) audio-visual collaboration
with Christina Vantzos and the record is a CD and DVD, collecting the
music and the seven videos as languorous travelogues through tranquil
settings and playful animation in a collaborative process that
seamlessly ties the music to the cinematics.
The eleven tracks of the CD, which, as Wiltzie says, were too
aggressive and too short for Stars of the Lid pieces (a statement one
should take with a grain of salt because, after all, nothing moves
very quickly on any of these tracks), are tiny symphonies of pastoral
movement: the slow shift of light and sound across bucolic scenery.
These are aural landscapes done in slow motion brushstrokes, huge
canvases of broad tones and gentle guitar textures. Voices drift in
and out of the space along with shards of slow static and temperate
synthesizers melodies. Piano on tracks like “Taco De Macque” and
“Aegina Airlines” lend a European flair to the record, a soundtrack
aesthetic reminiscent of Zbigniew Preisner’s work, and are testament
to the influence of the Continent on Wiltzie (he’s been living in
Brussels these past few years).
The Dead Texan is a delightful respite from the frantic bustle of the
last week of the year. This is decompression music, an hour of
blissful ambient soundscapes that will unravel all the knots and kinks
in your spine after a day of holiday shopping. Put this one on in a
dark room, put it on the TV with all the lights off, and let Wiltzie
and Vantzos blow all the tension out of your head. This is how the
year should end: with a slow exhalation. Take a minute. Take an
hour. Exhale.
The Dead Texan is out now on Kranky.
