ARTIST: The Shrinking Islands
TITLE: In the Black Carpet
LABEL: Sort of Records
GENRE: Indie
BITRATE: 199kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 24m total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-09-26
RIP DATE: 2006-09-16
Track List
----------
1. Native Light 2:32
2. Big Nature Comes Back 2:10
3. The Secret Activities Begin 3:53
4. State Fair 3:26
5. Swallowed In Grave 2:38
6. Bad Company 3:38
7. In The Black Carpet 3:26
8. They Don't Watch Me 2:32
Release Notes:
http://www.shrinkingislands.com/
http://www.myspace.com/theshrinkingislands
http://www.sortofrecords.com/
The Shrinking Islands formed in Cambridge MA after guitarist/songwriter Kyle
Bittinger handed drummer Andy Tefft a CD of his previous project, the epic and
since reformed Casio-pop unit Harm. Compared with this 80's-technology excess,
The Shrinking Islands represent a drastic simplification and return to original
form. They are a clean guitar plugged directly into the amplifier. Arpeggiated
high notes that float above the melody defined in the low frequencies. Simple
beats undermined by crashing odes to Keith Moon. They are the first second of a
minor chord that cloaks the moment with a mysterious gravity.
Maybe the first thing you'll hear in The Shrinking Islands is that they're
jangly. Yes, in that late-80's Feelies kind of way, or in that
produced-by-Mitch-Easter kind of way. The instruments are clean and bright. The
drums are working hard. The pop hook rules the day. Early Yo La Tengo, early
R.E.M., The Clean, and The Moles all come to mind. But not ones to paint
themselves into a corner- and both painful prog nerds- they are known to bust
out King Crimson and This Heat covers when they kick it live.
The "In the Black Carpet" series of songs have a story to them: a kind of
"Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)" for the clogged highways and pastoral
backroads of New England. A spy has been pulled into his final assignment, feet
dragging. The songs describe the return of his nemesis, the closed-doors
meetings, tapped wires, smuggled cargo, remembrance of deceased friends. Amidst
the simplicity there is much to decipher lyrically. The band set about recording
them at MITÆs WMBR live studio, where Bittinger is an engineer. They hope you
enjoy them.