Local Album Review // We Out Here // Old Growth
4/5 stars
When aspects of modern culture become preoccupied with human-built liminal spaces, a retreat deep into a wooded sanctuary is refreshing. The natural world can seem primal, alien, and otherworldly if not frequented often. Like some Lynchian cosmic portal, it is everything We Out Here offers with Old Growth. To paraphrase Art Bell, these tracks were recorded at an undisclosed location in Allegheny State Forest. The pieces resonate with an Eno-like ambience and a J. Dilla sensibility. These recordings are not only inspired by their surroundings but also replicate a lovely moodiness, organic vibe, and sometimes chaotic dissonance. It doesn't leave you feeling as much Snow White as it does Cernunnos. The captivating tracks carry one from an NWPA-esque Walt Wanderley exotica to an upbeat Raymond Scott orchestration to a smooth DJ Shadow production to hypnotic Moroccan beats to mellow Billy Frissell strings. Yet these musical wildings' unbridled approach can quickly morph from atmospheric to awkward overindulgence, if one is not careful. The title track hooks to exceptional others like "Skidoosh," "Goodlo," "Crazy Legs," and "Baba Kulee." It is exciting to hear artists like Ben Himan (natrlorder), Elias Kerr (Elias, if only), Jon Lightfoot (Baad entertainment), Joseph Newara (Frogs I Like), and Zach Hyman make committed, excellent contributions to the local music scene.
