 Voyager One
From the New Nation of Long
Shadows
Loveless Records
CD Review by Matthew Parker
Voyager One create a seamless
musical existence so free from the
ironic-pop/rock trappings of the local scene that
it's often hard to remember that the quartet
hails from Seattle and not some dusky planet with
three moons and time-lapse desert sunset clouds.
Lushly recorded at Renton's Spectre Studios,
producer William Bernhard and the band have
created what I am quite comfortable calling the best local album
of the year to date. From the New Nation
of Long Shadows, V1's second (and first
"official") full-length, is it's own
planet, a planet of sound at times so close to
pure music that attempts at description become
unusually difficult.
There are road
signs, landmarks, if you need them. Top-shelf
Brit-gazers like Ride, A Storm in Heaven-era
Verve, the Stone Roses and My Bloody
Valentine. Yes, it's that good. Guitarists Peter Marchese and Jeremy Koepping deftly weave veil upon
veil of phasing, pulsing, swirling guitars.
Marchese's throaty vocals nestle securely in the
mix, often trading melodic lines with Koepping's
assured lead figures. Bassist Dayna Loeffler's incredibly solid
fretless playing is restrained and understated,
at times reminiscent of John Entwistle's best
moments with the Who. Hollis Fleischman plays Abbey Road-era
Ringo, all wide-open cymbals and inevitably
perfect off-beat tom fills; intriguingly, this
proclivity is nowhere less apparent than on Long
Shadows quarter-speed, nine-plus minute
cover of "Daytripper."
Like
"Daytripper," Voyager One's lyrical bent is such
that the songs always seem to be almost, but not
quite, about anything. One gets the feeling that
the words have been chosen less for their
meanings and more for their quality of assonance,
a finishing touch, like silver buttons sewn onto
an elaborate brocade jacket. There are exceptions
-- "Slower California" opens the album
with an affecting image of quiescent nihilism
("I dreamed you were hollow/ You were barely
there/ I started a new world/ Where we could
breathe the air,") -- and the lack of a
lyric sheet may mean I'm missing a few gems, but
to be honest, I've listened to this album a few
dozen times now and rarely find myself noting the
lyrics; the vocals are effective enough a
component of the music to render any further
interpretation unnecessary.
Which means I
should stop writing now. Do yourself a favor and
hear From the New Nation of Long Shadows
sooner than later.
Available at LovelessRecords.com
Check Out Our
Incredible Voyager One Photos!
Also at Pandomag.com
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