This is a delightful e.p with a few surprises lurking- a welcome return for Wandering Years which signals a rebuilding of the past and a path to new pastures. A compilation of recordings from 2022-2024 it manages to feel entirely cohesive and possessed of an immediacy that’s more than a little moreish.
It opens with its first version of the title track- a chugging, expansive slice of indie rock which throbs subtly in slow meanders, sunk within its slippery smog of distorted sound. The lead guitar delivers lovely little licks in the instrumental sections – a feature of the e.p as a whole- that keeps things playfully conversational. There’s no doubting the influence of Mark Linkous in the crackling whisper of the vocal delivery, and the shifting sonic textures- but it’s wrapped here in an almost shoe-gaze haze that reshapes the landscape they reside in. It works beautifully.
Geologic continues that dance between throbbing guitar fizz and wavering foggy intimacies – the shadow of Flaming Lips resting over the edges of the song. Hands hints at the slowcore textures that they’ve toyed with before – where stately, electric guitar work perpetuates yet more quietly atmospheric shapes. And atmosphere is certainly key here. When isn’t it? They’re building a little world of their own. Summer Dress allows that slowcore thrum meets shoegaze froth to gain yet more late 90s tropes – showing once more the growing clarity of their subtle but entwining song craft. The familiar hum of a Tascam returns on mini-epic hypnotiser You’re the Chrysler Building which slowly draws you in with its steady, looping, dreamlike repetitions. It’s quietly mesmerising.
The highlight for me though is their reworking of the title track in the EP’s final song, a gloriously intimate acoustic presentation featuring the soulful pedal steel playing of Kevin Copeland which despite its mournful tones somehow sounds like the sun shining over everything. It also makes me realise how Neil Young’s presence has been felt over all these songs and here returns in delightful abundance in its Cripple Creek Ferry evoking melodies. A different set of clothes doesn’t always fit – but here feels like a golden chance to step out into the light.
Released on September 12th on Candlepin Records and Better Days Will Haunt You, it’s a collection whose glow is well worth basking in.
Written by M.A Welsh (Misophone)
Music | Misophone (bandcamp.com)
