Tag Archives: Western Vinyl

Switched On – Walt McClements: On A Painted Ocean (Western Vinyl)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Walt McClements began work for On A Painted Ocean in a Pasadena church in 2022. There he was given unexpected access to the building’s organ, recordings that he revisited at a later date while on tour as part of the group behind Weyes Blood.

With months on the tour bus, and restricted access to musical instruments, McClements began to add his own processed accordion sound from a synthesizer, forming the basis of the album. Unsure how to move forward, he explored collaborative options on a visit to former home New Orleans, and the album took shape with saxophonist Aurora Nealand and with studio help from Rachika Nayar.

McClements describes the album as, “A credit to strong relationships and mutual support…adapting to the tides and remembering your community can help when you feel stuck at sea.”

What’s the music like?

Often close to weightless. The woozy combination of pipe organ and accordion make appealing sonorities to form the basis of McClements’ music, whose wide open textures are surely as a result of all that time spent on the road. The music has an appealing freedom but also melancholic tones that speak of homesickness and confinement.

A Painted Ship has a touching intimacy in its thoughts, but reveals a surprising depth to the fulsome chords as the music gradually swells. The title track pares back to accordion alone, a thoughtful elegy. Washed Up has a lovely backdrop that you can dive in to, with shimmering textures that reflect the blue and white cover.

Elsewhere peace is found in the midst of a struggle. Cloud Prints is initially more elusive, before the saxophone of Aurora Nealand soars above the musical landscape like a soaring eagle – and Nealand appears too on the longer form Parade, whose stately chord sequence from the organ is adorned with glitter but also scarred – and effectively rescued by an instructive field recording. The coda, Clattering, drifts in and out of focus.

Does it all work?

It does. McClements is right – his music is a source of comfort, but also of beauty in spite of the scars.

Is it recommended?

It is. Walt McClements has created something original and rather special here, one that speaks of how it was composed – but also offers a unique form of comfort, converting damage and strife into ambience and light.

For fans of… Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Tim Hecker, Peter Broderick, Efterklang

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Published post no.2,511 – Tuesday 22 April 2025

On Record – Nightlands: Moonshine (Western Vinyl)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Nightlands, the solo project of The War On Drugs bassist Dave Hartley, has reached its third instalment. Moonshine reflects a change in the pace of his home personal life, since leaving Philadelphia for the relatively deserted area of Asheville.

When crafting his music, Hartley has looked to build massive layers of keyboards and vocals on top of each other, creating ‘stacks’ of sound. They are in keeping with the album’s artwork, as the press release describes. “The surrealistic album art by Austin-based illustrator Jaime Zuverza depicts an archway opening to the stars over the surface of an idyllic sea flanked by both moon and sun”, it says. “Similarly, Moonshine reveals portals within portals leading to ever deeper places in Hartley’s vocal-centered labyrinth.”

What’s the music like?

As wide open as that introduction suggests it will be, but in spite of the big textures there is a touching intimacy too. On occasion it feels like the one person you are talking to has gone out for a quick smoke under the stars in a massive vista, and will be back inside shortly. The music pans out to give space to these thoughts, which are often tender and warm.

They are not without sharp-edged feeling, however. Stare Into The Sun has a direct observation on political machinations. “You’ve got your sheep but you’re no shepherd”, sings Hartley. “What does it mean…to buy everyone, and send someone’s son to Afghanistan?” No Kiss For The Lonely is equally pertinent, with its observation of “no love for you refugees, no rest for the weary”.

Most of the time, however, the album inhabits a calming place, the big vocals and keyboards complemented by languid saxophone lines and impressively supple rhythm tracks. The music unfolds with a slow and very natural groove, and Hartley’s warm-hearted vocals become its principle feature, often finding a style of music akin to a less troubled Bon Iver.

With You is a prime example, inhabiting a serene and content place, while Blue Wave goes even calmer, its keyboards like a slowly running stream.

Does it all work?

It does, especially at either end of the day. Moonshine has some very evocative moments, and it is beautifully written, rewarding background listening but also offering more to those paying attention to the lyrics.

Is it recommended?

Is it recommended?

Yes – an album of starry Americana that deserves its place in the moonlight.

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Switched On: Cool Maritime – Big Earth Energy (Western Vinyl)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Cool Maritime is a pseudonym for Santa Cruz musician Sean Hellfritsch. With a childhood spent outdoors in Californian orchards and canyons, he has perhaps not surprisingly fostered a deep concern for natural and environmental issues. His music is an extension of that, and Big Earth Energy builds on the success of last album Sharing Waves, released on LA’s Leaving Records. The name Cool Maritime reflects the bond he has felt with the northern coastal climates.

Hellfritsch had a concept for this album, looking back to 1995 and his first encounter with the game MYST. This time the player takes on the mantle of a prehistoric tree frog, changing ‘ages’ with each new level of the game and in the process finding out the massive changes the earth has gone through in that time.

What’s the music like?

Big Earth Energy takes its lead from 1980s Japanese ambient music, with a language that often ‘feels’ Eastern but never explicitly names a time or a place. Hellfritsch likes to keep things moving, but at the same time there is a good deal of ambience to enjoy when the listener pans out to listen on widescreen or headphones.

The richly coloured title track settles and builds its material from small building blocks, gently swaying as though in a breeze. Soft Fascinations has rippling textures that generate positive, restorative energy from which bigger chords can dominate. Amphibia is also deeply shaded, wide open in texture and melodic possibility.

Very soon the ear falls under the spell of the music, and its easy, slightly chunky 1980s sound profile sits very nicely in the context of its material. Avian Glide has a similar effect, with soft marimba lines complementing analogue synth washes. There is plenty of melodic interest, and a discernible pulse, but little outright percussion is used.

Hellfritsch has an appealing style, generating movement through positive melodies and consonant harmonies, with light textures that can sometimes mask the number of countermelodies and crossrhythms in play. Secret of the Megafauna is good example here, a dense forest of musical happenings with ‘plants’ that cross paths, interweave and break apart again. It leads into the sharper lines of closing track Apex, the highest plateau now reached.

Does it all work?

Yes. There is a cleansing quality to Big Earth Energy, the sort of album you would put on when looking to take the weight from your shoulders or feet – along the lines of a producer such as Matthewdavid (owner of Hellfritsch’s previous label) or current label mate Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. The feel of the music could be described as New Age, with washes of primary musical colours and ambience, but that shouldn’t mask its emotive content or depth.

Is it recommended?

It is – Big Earth Energy is a wholly positive piece of work in the face of environmental adversity.

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