Music
to daydream to. An ambient mix of shoegaze, deftly fingerpicked
acoustic folk, and synthy soundscapes.
It's always a good day
when the postman delivers a piece of vinyl to Harmonic Distortion HQ.
A couple of weeks back this LP by The Starlights' Sound arrived
unexpectedly. I must admit the name wasn't familiar and the sleeve
held no clues to what kind of music lay within its grooves. Which is
fine by me! So with an open mind and open heart I placed it on the
turntable and lifted the needle into place...
What followed was most
welcome; eight tracks of mostly instrumental, meditative music,
somewhere between shoegaze, deftly fingerpicked acoustic folk,
soundscapes and ambient music. A little digging on the web led to
their Facebook page where they've described the record as “a
collection of sonic environments designed to promote relaxation,
visualization and lucid dreaming.” Which is pretty much spot on.
The project (that feels
more apt than band) is based in San Francisco and was put together by
Steve Perrone and Doug Hilsinger. Instrumentation includes guitar,
bass, drums, organ and synths, but it's the addition of violin and
cello that adds a reflective, melancholy edge to certain tracks.
Listening to Out Over Nothing is like taking a peak into
someone's private notebook. The tracks have an open-ended sketch-like
quality to them as if they've been jotted down in a daydream to
capture a mood rather than any specific thought. An album with a
sphinx-like mystery attached to it, and all the more welcome and
likable for that.
The album is available
on vinyl (which is recommended!) or via the Bandcamp/Soundcloud links
below. Interestingly The Starlights' Sound have made a video to
accompany 'Pictures', a track from the album. I've placed the link
below, find a quiet moment, shut out any distractions and enjoy.
Click here for The
Starlights' Sound on Facebook.
Click here for The
Starlights' Sound on Bandcamp.
Click here for The
Starlights' Sound on Soundcloud.
Click here for Planet
Seven Recordings.
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