[rating=3]
Orienteers‘ eponymous second release is a hazy, fragile, almost celestial sounding appreciation of travel (hence the name), and it follows up 2008’s Staying Places; released by the same folk under their original guise That’s the Spirit.
The Ottawa, Canada five-piece group themselves under the space-folk umbrella which goes decidedly well in defining their sound as a lofi, quietly experimental Pink Floyd, with the vast expanses of space and energy they create through slight static sounds, thrums of reverb guitars and twinkling keys likening them to Barn Owl’s oscillation between eerie, beautiful soundscapes.
Descending pianos arpeggios and looped pedal steel form ‘I Tried to Picture Us’, while the soft, hushed vocals leading us through this foggy listen are of an almost timeless nature; the dual harmonies of Ben Wilson and Brennan Pilkington easily transporting back to classic 60’s folk. It’s almost a synesthetic journey we experience; as cascading keys of a piano get delicately caught up in the bluster of whispering synths that surround them, while the angelic vocals of ‘A Hymn for the Old Salt’ paint a picture of a thousand bright lights in a pitch black night sky.
The kind of recording that doesn’t make a huge impact on an initial listen, yet one comprised of songs that catch you off guard, finding you again in those quiet moments of solitude.
Tracks
I Tried to Picture Us
A Hymn for the Old Salt
Walking Song
Orienteers is released on Antique Room (17 Sep 2011)
