Thursday, April 29, 2010

2Muchachos - Prespring EP


Spring has not entirely sprung in Russia. So while the 2muchachos wait for the warmer air, in which to release their debut album, Formant on Parallax Records (due to drop in July), they released this Prespring EP, slight and unassuming, a mere 4 songs.
The diminutive stature, its non-commercial nature (they're giving it away free on their blog), had me slightly biased, pre-emptively dismissing this, an emissary from the anonymous internet. Thus, color me snow-blind when i pawed the play button and this shit floored me like gravity! Well, it was subtler than that, more like an alluring breath on the back of my neck, a kind word from a friend.
I've noticed, in discussion, that the 'folktronica' tag has surfaced, and it is justified, in general blissed-out emoting mood, but not entirely accurate. The 2muchachos are not creating mere velour, E dropping, cuddlecore; NO! There is range, here, folks! There is surprising depth. There is darkness, like the ominous nocturnal Snowdrops, but it is still the darkness before the dawn. There is sweetness, (the alluring vocals of "fair maiden Alexandra" on Warmtime, sung in Russian). There is mystery. There is confusion. The overall effect is like a Fairy Tale in the woods, threatening, confusing, coming upon friends and enemies in even parts, as our hero struggles through to find out Who The Fuck They Really Are. And then there's the last song... an acoustic version of Dreaming Girl, which i'm assuming will be on the forth-coming LP (which i can't wait to here,) is a bare-boned reverb-drenched guitar with bare murmuring of some organ and some very far away vocals, and it takes my breath away! Caught me like a sideways slap, on a bike ride home from a friend's, its absolute eviscerating loveliness like a fish hook in my brain, causing memories to pour out, in one silent cataclysm of mood and music. It sounds like it could be a Sigur Ros out-take, and combine that with the ear-catching minutiae of sound design evident through-out Prespring, the fields recordings, the clinks and clatters, the tiny little spinning platters of panning audio, that make or break electronic music these days. These guys, i repeat, The 2muchachos seem to know what the hell they are doing!!! Watch out! Seemingly not confined to style or genre, speaking more from pure expression, from the heart so to speak, these are the elements that i look for in music, that keeps me endlessly searching. This time it found me, and for that, i thank you 2muchachos!

Prespring EP
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