Peals—the Baltimore-based ambient duo comprising William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger)—have announced the digital reissue of Seltzer (December 5th via Thrill Jockey), a rarity previously available only as a 2015 limited-edition cassette. To mark the occasion, the band have shared “Believers,” a glowing composition of swelling harmonies and folding, distorted textures that sets the tone for this atmospheric collection.
Far removed from the high-energy bombast of their primary rock outfits, Peals focuses on intimacy, loops, and texture. Seltzer serves as a time capsule of the duo’s prolific 2013–2014 period, capturing the “fermentation of improvisation” that would eventually lead to their sophomore LP, Honey.
The release is structurally fascinating. While Side B, “Before and After,” acts as a seamless mixtape of home experiments, Side A documents a unique site-specific collaboration with multimedia artist Zoe Friedman inside Baltimore’s historic Bromo Seltzer clock tower. The recording is strictly verité: rather than masking the industrial clamour of the tower, Cashion and Willen embraced it.
Upon realising the room was filled with the noise of elevator mechanics, the duo attached contact mics to the controls to amplify the clicks and pops. They even composed pieces in the key of G to harmonise with the clock motor’s constant hum. From the random percussion of machinery to the faint echo of street sirens below, Seltzer offers a mesmerising listen that blurs the line between music and environment.
William and Bruce talk about the experience of performing in the clock room:
“We first visited the clock room on a cold winter night. In the stillness above the city, the darkened space took on the hush of a post-industrial church. We all found ourselves talking in low voices as if out of respect for some giant clockmaker. Unexpectedly, a series of loud pops and bangs broke the quiet, causing the three of us to jump—the large bank of elevator controls had sprung to life as someone called the elevator from one of the lower floors. We realized that the random whirring of the equipment and loud sparking noises were going to be inescapable elements in the room during the performance. Rather than mask the noises of the machinery, we decided to incorporate its sounds into our performance. Attaching a contact mic to the elevator controller, we captured and amplified the random clicks and pops of the machinery, adding to the layer of ambient sounds reverberating through the space.
Our performance included compositions created specifically to accompany Zoe’s projections as well as two adaptations of pieces from our Walking Field album. Because the clock motor hummed in the key of G, we tried to write pieces that would fit harmoniously with this tone. Noises from the elevator controller appear at unexpected-yet-oddly-appropriate times. Shortly before the last movement, you can hear a distant siren echoing from the streets below. This recording documents the first of two performances and was the first time that we had performed these pieces in a live setting.”
Pre-Order Seltzer via Bandcamp