Drug Cabin's self titled album is brimming with folkish dreamy indie pop
songs that embrace you with beautiful melodies laced with a full range
of emotions, all that connect with you. Much of this connection hinges
on Nathan Thelen's (Pretty Girls Make Graves and Moonrats) superb songwriting
and vocal performances that are as laid back as they are earnest. The
production flourishes are simply wonderful as produced by Pretty Girls
Make Graves bandmate Nick De Witt. Take for example the music break
during "One Face" that shines with cool downbeats and some sounds
that edge toward the surreal. Dramatic touches like this set Drug Cabin
apart from the normal indie folk fare. "Whatever Never" with it's vocal
harmonies and dancy rhythm has a classic pop feel and an almost Paul
Simon Kodachrome-ish vibe.
I had the pleasure of
shooting Drug Cabin back in March of last year performing "Nobody's
Ghost" and as lovely as that was, hearing it on this album in all it's
carefully rendered glory is somewhat of a revelation. It crackles and
pops with homespun sounds as if friends on a porch are
joining in with make shift percussion to accompany the very upfront
acoustic guitar and Thelan's tender vocals. At a certain point the song
just opens up in a sparkling, elegant symphony of sounds that never
goes too far. It remains a spartan affair, the silence being as
important as the swelling instrumentation. The pristine nature of the
sounds sends shivers up your spine and in some ways (certain production
elements) reminds me of the Beach Boys iconic Surfs up album.
With
the exception of "The One I Love" (which is one of the more straight
folk songs on the album) all the songs on Drug Cabin start out feeling
very down to earth and very much rooted in Thelen's self awareness only
to blow up, becoming dreamy and ethereal. It is a heady ride that you
will want to revisit often. I understand that Marcus Congleton
(Ambulance LTD front man) did not lend his creative talents to this
project but one can only imagine what Drug Cabin will evolve into with
his songwriting and musical collaboration.
-Robb Donker
www.drugcabin.com
No comments:
Post a Comment