Date Palms – The Dusted Sessions
(Thrill Jockey)
LP/CD
10 June 2013
There seem to be more and more drone
artists appearing in a music form that was previously sneered at, but, to be
fair, the genre seems to be developing into something more than monotone
ramblings. Acts are layering and adding
instrumentation to make it more interesting whilst maintaining the hypnotic
appeal.
Take the Date Palms duo of Gregg
Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons. On The
Dusted Sessions they’ve been joined by electric bass, electric guitar and
tanpura, and the sound is something pretty good. It’s minimalist, but has some great additions
in the form of Country, jazz and the intriguing Indian Classical. It all adds up to a very unique sound.
Apparently inspired by a visit to
the Yuba River, three tracks reference its name – amplified violins create an
eerie but calming sound in an almost Country style. Imagine riders on horseback riding slowly
along the riverbank, dust kicking up behind their hooves making their way into
the sunset behind the inevitable clouds.
Yuba Source Part 1, Yuba Source Part 2 and Yuba Reprise carry on the
same theme, the later of the three fading away calmly and beautifully.
Side two of the album is notably
harder and darker. Percussion and
electric guitars make their mark on Night Riding The Skyline although the violin
does make another appearance at the electronically effected close. More electronic effects mark the start of
Dusted Down which again starts slowly and soon rises into heavier territory,
maintaining an element of calm and resisting the urge to go that little bit too
far. Analogue synthesizers move slowly
behind an intermittent flute as the track closes a special album with serene
and endless feel.
It’s all good stuff, and, if cult
movie classic Westworld was to be remade for the twenty-first century, then The
Dusted Sessions would be the perfect soundtrack.
All stirring stuff.
8/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 10/06/13 - here
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