Silver Antlers/Seven Feathers Rainwater Split EP (Moondial, 09.09)
For: High Wolf, Animal Collective, Niagara Falls
Byline: Showcase of SLC's finest murkiest, haziest drones and textured tribal beats.
I think I start every review of a band from Utah by saying how amazing 2009 has been in terms of releases from SLC artists. I just can't get over how incredible some of the music coming out of the Beehive State is. Seven Feathers Rainwater is no exception, trust me, birthed into the fraternal "New Weird Utah" held down by mainstays Stag Hare, Silver Antlers, Navigator, Chaz Prymek, Hew Mun, etc... SFR shares a similar noise palate and deserves to be uttered in the same breath as the above luminaries. SFR's murky drones, tripped out by Eastern influenced samples and ragas, are really some of the most straight up enjoyable moments in SLC's experimental hadj towards Mecca. Looped piano drones, scattered woodwinds, wordless vocals and unfettered bursts of noise punctuate the SFR opener "Sun Rain", my vote for best album on the track. The song takes an unexpected sentimental turn right around the middle of the track as acoustic guitars, dancey percussion and the impeccable timing of Noah Lennox-esque cooing fade in and out of the lusciously textured drones. This was my first time hearing Seven Feather Rainwater and needless to say, SFR is about as good as they come. TOME fav. Silver Antlers, picks up where he left off on his year-end-best-of topper Black Blood of the Earth. With this two song offering, Silver Antlers, reigns in and compresses some of the most exciting moves from BBOTE into bite size morsels of swelling guitar drones and soaring solos meets tribal meditations meets the Algerian Desert Desert blues of Terakaft at a Qawalli festival. Silver Antlers straddles a line between Western blues inspired metal riffs and the contemplative percussion and spiritualism of Eastern musical traditions. This split is a mystical journey in the vein of doomsday calendars, feathered serpents, far east shamanism and all the wonderful oddities of Salt Lake City. There is no excuse for taking this journey because Moondial is hosting this split for free! If you are feeling generous, dust off that old cd-tape-radio boombox and order it from the small-run-tape-only Moondial (see below)!
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