| Tree Colored See is the result of a union between electronic artist, Nobody (Elvin Estella) and the psychedelic folk-rock of Mystic Chords of Memory, and it’s definitely an album worth exploring. The sound that’s collectively produced by these two artists has that “easy-listening” quality, lending itself rather well to serving as background music - either in a trendy café or in a more beatnik-friendly setting. However, the depth of the sound and the interesting way in which the various elements are fused together mean that it’s also a record which lends itself well to closer listening. The electronic elements mainly take the form of beats, loops, and sweeping filters applied to more acoustic sounds. There are very few blatant synth lines on this album, instead the acoustic instruments are mostly allowed to carry the melodies, sometimes adorned by a subtle effect which gives them a slightly different character. On the whole, the album is quite warm and there are very few jarring sounds in the mix. Even the more ‘glitch-like’ electronic elements aren’t really allowed to spoil the ambience. While sometimes the drum beats and samples chosen almost give the sound a dangerously dance-like feel, thankfully this isn’t the case on all the songs. The vocal approach on the album is very indie-rock in character. The voices are never strained, lots of vocal layering is used and overall they aren’t too distant from The Shins or early Death Cab For Cutie. Nobody & Mystic Chords of Memory match the overall mood of the album particularly well, and while they’re mostly blended into the tracks in a very subtle way, there are definite lyrical and melodic hooks that will catch the listener’s attention. Musically, while there are certainly memorable passages throughout the album, the songs certainly haven’t been written to become singles. Everything is very relaxed and there aren’t often any single elements trying to grab your attention. That said, there are some very strong moments on the disc where both melodically and rhythmically the sound builds to become powerful and moving. It would be great to see these two artists explore such sounds as they appear in the tracks Memory, Klaw Prints, and Walk in the After Light, rather than musical collages such as Decisions, Decisions. Tracks such as Decisions, Decisions are definitely more sonically dense but they’re also less emotionally involving. There are more instruments at work but ultimately they’re saying less and you probably won’t remember much from them afterwards. Tree Colored See is an album which has a distinctly modern sound, despite its very solid folk-rock base. The record is well balanced on the whole and it couldn’t be said that one artist seems to dominate the other. However, on a track-by-track basis, there are certainly some songs where the electronics are more in focus and others where the instruments are largely left to fend for themselves. As such, there is actually quite a spread in the overall sound of the material and it’s hard to imagine any listener not finding something to like, provided they don’t go in expecting anything particularly hard and rocky. If you’re going to listen to laid-back, lounge-around, daydream music which still has both a tune and a groove you can’t do an awful lot better than Tree Colored See - provided you don’t mind some electronics and some folk instruments and provided you’re up for hearing them blended together in a new and exciting way this album is well worth your time. - PBS FM |
1XLP/Out Of Print