Phil Cook - Old Hwy D (CD)

It’s about that evening moment where the neon signage buzzes on and the strange

Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn’s debut LP as Sylvan Esso arrived in 2014 at the juncture of pop and experimental

This clarity is present in every note of “Gem” and “Grasses

the LP remains an urgent and fitting introduction to a push-and-pull that would go on to inform the duo’s sound – a thoughtful headiness that also wants you to get out on the dance floor

on a drawing pad of thick paper favored by manga artists

” as in the bar lights

“Sunburn” conjures a summer night’s dance party even as Meath’s locked-down vocal (“My favorite way to ruin me”) suggests nothing is as carefree as it seems

a swampy soiree

The day was beautiful

unworldly quality to “How Did You Know” and album closer “Coming Back to You

was literally a geodesic dome at the top of a hill

I guess it’s just how we naturally meet up in that realm