The Dovetail Consort - East And West EP (Rusted Rail records)
East & West is a simple yet delicately harmonious record that shifts slowly through many acoustic fields of vision. At times I am reminded of the Dead Man’s Shoes soundtrack and at others a totally organic version of Labradford. One thing is clear here, these guys have had enough time to dwell on and capture the beauty and stillness that surrounds anyone awakening to the crow of the cockerel on a blistering summer's morning.
Songs that are plucked delicately, shift in waves of gentle repetition and slip you into hazy fields of humid summer country air. An apt title, as this release mixes many ingredients from the musical world of the Eastern and the Western hemisperes of this world and the results are palpably hypnotic.
“1919” has that uplifting melancholy that just makes you want to stare from your window and pretend the world does not exist. Once the song ends, it’s clear that the real world could never be as beautiful as the one created in this song. Acoustic guitars spin joyous patterns and the listener becomes giddily trapped in this world of ambient folk inspired haziness.
Acoustic guitars are the driving force on this release. Many songs sound like they are taking shape right before your ears. A jam session that is taking form and flight with tiny splashes of sound that have an impact on the whole jigsaw - like picture. Violins, Mandolins and instruments that I just cannot put a name to all add to this charmingly bright picturesque EP.
TDC are definitely ones to look out for. I really like this release and would love to hear a whole album's worth of material. The ideas here hint at something that is about to hit the mark in a way that will leave the listener in a state of awe and calmness. This band is NEARLY there. Until then, this is more than enough...
7/10