Back in November, we got to savour the psychedelic vibes of Echolalia‘s lead single ‘Odd Energy‘. The Nashville-based group features friends Spencer Cullum, Andrew Combs, Jordan Lehning and Dominic Billett.
With the psych pastoral-tinged ‘Blood Moon‘, the energy knob is turned down for what’s described as an ode to appreciating beauty in all its forms, no matter how routine; it recalls a blood moon night in West Virginia after having “indulged in too much of a particular product”, gazing into a star-lit sky.
“I went onto the roof deck to watch the sky’s performance”, Dom Billett says of the inspirational experience. “After about 45 minutes of looking into the night, enamored by its beauty, I realized that I was gazing in the wrong direction. The blood moon was behind me and I was staring into a hyper-clear, star-lit sky, which was also beautiful. So this little mantra of sorts came about, kind of reminding myself that beauty and wonder are about in all forms – and not only in the most direct and in-your-face sort of ways. Sometimes some peaceful time to appreciate what is around, no matter how routine, can be the peace that we’re looking for.”
Cullum’s pedal steel really opens up the vista on this number, and there’s a chemistry between the players that is plain to hear. I like that they’ve also left in the studio banter in at the end, which adds to the whole relaxed feel and underpins their un-Nashville approach to recording this album. As they say – no charts, no headphones, no isolation. No preconceptions, no expectations, just friends enjoying one another’s talents, responding with a sense of joy. No obligations to corporate radio or shareholder value, no amp modelling and quantization – just musicians making music.
Their self-titled debut album is set for release on 28th February via Full Time Hobby.
Pre-Order Echolalia: https://fulltimehobby.ffm.to/echolalia