I have made a habit over the past week of listening to this album first thing in the morning. Ringing picked notes, chilly and clear, the *plck* of plectrums against tight strings, shifting bodies of static and digital manipulation, and finally calm repetition and tonal progressions. It is part of my morning ablutions, I go into Way with groggy eyes and mind, still living in my dreams and yesterday, and enter out the other side fresh, with my inner self scorified and ready for the day.The dudes in Ecstatic Sunshine come from Baltimore, Maryland in the US, and they were originally a duo that played frantic double guitar workouts, see this description. For this year’s Way, the guys added an electrics manipulator to create a threesome, with one of the original members saying this is his last album with the band. Way certainly seems different to their previous album, (which I haven’t heard, all I know about it comes from Darnielle’s piece up there), somehow calmer and more reflective, and taking a completely different tact as with middle track ‘Herrons’, which features electronic staticy noise over the effects laden guitar/s. It’s not really a great comparison in the way this album feels, but I can’t help but think of last year’s Parts & Labor album Mapmaker, dollops of electronics mixed in with guitars. ‘Perrier’ is 10 minutes long and builds on those themes already put forward in the album, but also manages to synthesize pretty plucking, noisy but melodious electronics and an eventual ecstatic peak of harmony.
Anyway, I’m glad that when I read that Dusted review of this album that I listened to the sample track as I read along, because it gave me the impetus to check out this cool album. Since this release I think another electronics guy has joined the group, so it should be interesting to see where they go with it.
Links
Ecstatic Sunshine [myspace]
Good words.
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