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▀███▄ State River Widening - Self-Titled ▄███▀
artist : State River Widening
title : Self-Titled
date : 1999
label : Rocket Girl (rgirl8lp)
genre : Indie
rls. date : March/2005
tracks : 08
bitrate : VBRkbps
size : 58,7 MB
"The self-titled debut album from London's State River
Widening has been likened to the sound of Mogwai tickling
Simon & Garfunkel's feet. If that comparison leaves you
puzzled, don't fear, because no amount of name-checking
really does this understated album justice.
Indeed, State River Widening embodies the sum total of
its creators' influences, which range from the tingling
cymbals and marimba countermelodies favored by Tortoise,
to the acoustic guitar repetitions of Gastro Del Sol, to
the calming simplicity of David Pajo's Aerial and Papa M
projects. In reality, there's not a whole lot on State
River Widening that smacks of post-everything
originality. Still, this record evokes a kind of internal
longing that should find kindred spirits with many in the
U.S. indie underground (at press time, the album is
available only via the U.K. label Rocket Girl).
Although grounded in the ideals of organic
guitar/bass/drums musicianship, State River Widening
employs organs and assorted electronics for the sake of
both texture and noodling. The sound effects and playful
keyboards that encircle the 12-minute "Charmfield"
certainly smack of Tortoise's 1998 TNT album, but the
real problem is that the song never gets past its lone
slinky bass groove. The dreamy "Peach Republic" suffers
from the same fault, its pretty melody repeated for far
too long. "Cable Car" splits the difference, limiting its
jolly strumming to precisely two minutes.
But elsewhere, repetition triumphs over melodic stasis,
particularly on opener "Amsterdam Green." Much like the
herb that bears its name, the track fades in slowly,
almost the musical equivalent of warming up in front of a
fire after too long in the cold. The grinning, layered
guitar picking and no-nonsense drumming have all been
done before, but here, they burn brightly. The sad
melodica strains and "field recordings" of "Interlaken"
don't make it original, yet the gray, back porch
worldview they conjure is nearly tangible.
Thus is State River Widening's ace - its abililty to
manipulate even the slightest new bit into something
more. The chugging fan brush percussion on closer "Among
The Corn Rose" is just what's needed to divert attention
from the unchanging melody, while the prominent bottom
end on the essentially two-chord "Le Mars" spotlights the
drums as a lead instrument, recalling a similar
phenomenon found on Bundy K. Brown's magnificent 1996
Directions In Music album.
Those who dismiss State River Widening for its familiar
reference points will ultimately miss out on an album
that is the ideal accompaniment for good, old-fashioned
introspection. Thinking cap not included."
- Nude as the News
01-Amsterdam Green [05:14]
02-Peach Republic [04:30]
03-Le Mars [05:24]
04-Drift Brake [05:34]
05-Cable Car [01:59]
06-Charmfield [12:07]
07-Interlaken [03:25]
08-Among The Corn Rose [04:46]
───────
42:59 min
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PaleRider╕