It’s been a while since i visited the music of Windy & Carl, a duo I used to listen to back in my Boston days when I saw them at Terrastock. The married couple has been running their record shop in Detroit called Stormy Records for ages and their drone recordings have been around since 1994’s “Portal”.
So I have to say I was a bit surprised when i put on the first track and thought they accidentally put a Low record in the sleeve. Apparently this isn’t new as I go back through their more recent releases. Not that that is a bad thing since I do miss classic Low, It’s just not what I was expecting. This is much more accessible then any previous Windy & Carl release though the songs are built on many of the same layered textures as one might be accustomed to. The 9+ minute Moth To Flame is probably more like one might expect from the duo but this track would be the exception on this release. There is actually quite a bit going on with this release from the first two tracks featuring vocals to the somewhat spoken word “Crossing Over” as the closer and a variety of textures, volumes and layers of the other pieces between. The record does succeed in exhibiting more emotional range than previous releases. Not as cohesive as I would have hoped for but worth a few listens for sure, but at the same time I do believe Pitchfork’s 7.2 might be a bit lofty.
released on Kranky records
