Speck Mountain - Summer Above (Peace Frog)
3/5
By: Andrew Misuraca
BUY DOWNLOADThe debut album from Chicago trio Speck Mountain finally sees its official release this side of the pond. Released stateside in 2006, it remained a sleeper hit until recently thanks mostly to Manchester's Piccadilly records who placed it at the number five slot in their 2007 end of year best list which led to a snappy pick up by Peace Frog, which is pretty good going considering it's only just made it over here. Recorded mostly at John McEntire's Soma studios in midnight sessions, it's a record full of that bedroom pop that longs to go outside and lie hazy in the spring meadows or float through like dandelions in the breeze.
I put the record on and picked up pen and paper to make notes. Before long I found myself anxiously scribbling down thoughts for fear of falling in love with Marie-Claire Balabanian's voice and becoming biased. Everything on the album has purpose, nothing oversteps its boundaries, but in a good way, like a free-range music farm. Each instrument is happy to wander about in its section and plays its role perfectly. Guitars and organs breathe and bounce and swell like night imps in a bubble of reverb. The sporadic percussion lends to its otherworldly feel, so serene, the tambourine hits on 'Midnight Sun' are the only things that keep you from falling into a deep, peaceful slumber midway through the record.
One of the standout tracks is the charming 'Hey Moon' with its slow swaying guitar arpeggio and sweet vocal harmonies, staples throughout this eight-track mini-album. 'Girl Out West' is a dreamy number that sounds like the moon and stars lulling around over deep seas whilst tugging at the sky. The sparse arrangement on the echo-heavy 'Fjord Song' with its cascading organ makes it sound more like an underwater cavern song than a fjord.
Summer Above shimmers like an electric blanket of midnight, each track anchored by Balabanian's gorgeously simple melodies. Tracks are touched with moments of Yo La Tengo in their more down tempo moments, ethereal yet dense, moments of Besnard Lakes without the Beach Boys filter too but it remains a record that doesn't much sound like anything else. It makes me want to get post-coital with the midnight sun.
Artists in this article: Speck Mountain
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