FLAC | 286 MB | LINKS
Lushly meditative rock music is presented to us on Israel Nash Gripka’s second album. Having reflected on his impressions of New York for his debut work, this Missouri native has relocated again to the Texas hill country, a part of the country that his publicist, at least, claims to be the inspiration for the spacious grandeur to be found in this new work.
Reviews of the first album suggested that this was a man unafraid, to say the least, to let his influences show. Well, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Neil Young and Pink Floyd will both enjoy being flattered by the new album. There are strong echoes of both and something close to direct steals in places as that dreamy vibe of early 70’s Floyd meets the angst-laden istentialism of early Neil Young. Very beautiful, of course, though repeated listenings have still trying to pin down exactly which Floyd/Young track is being referenced at some points. The instrumentation here is lush, and sometimes exotic; layered guitars (electric and acoustic)are enhanced by more esoteric stringed instruments. Multi-layered vocals seem to feature other voices at times.