Article
Ten Questions: Manual

Albums
Alejandro & Aeron
Balustrade Ensemble
Jeremy Bible
F.S. Blumm
Cadence Weapon
Cataclyst
Cepia
Chloé
Cooler
Disinterested
edIT
Erik Enocksson
For Barry Ray
Ernest Gonzales
Grand National
Hakobune
Halou
Frode Haltli
Arve Henriksen
Ielasi & Ratti
Jumpel
Lawrence
Lickets
Manual
Melodium
Mono
My Fun
Marissa Nadler
Prints
Rekalix
Remote_ vs Ontayso
Will Saul
Sixtoo
Small Sails
Songs Of Green Pheasant
Christian Wallumrød
White Rainbow
Xeltrei
Yndi Halda

Compilations / Mixes
Paolo Mojo
Ewan Pearson
VA: 5 Years Get Physical
VA: Monza Vol. 2
VA: U-cover mix 01 [a]
VA: U-cover mix 02 [d]

3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Ateleia
Pier Bucci
Cio D'Or
Cloudland Canyon
Curium
Laurine Frost
Dave Graham
Hakobune
The Infant Cycle
Lerosa
Lullaby Leagure
Mole Harness
Mowbray & Sullivan
Ontayso
School of Seven Bells
Science Teacher
Sleep Robot
Unwed Sailor
VA: Spies & Lies
Rick Wade

Small Sails: Similar Anniversaries
Other Electricities

As summery an electronic record as there could possibly be, Small Sails' Similar Anniversaries demands to be called ‘sun-dappled.' There's certainly not a depressing moment to be found anywhere, but that's no criticism: the album is one long, joyous sigh of beatific sound that conjures memories of warm summer afternoons spent cycling in the peaceful countryside amidst the constant chatter and hum of birds and insects. Small Sails, actually a Portland-based music and film making quartet (Ethan Rose, Adam Porterfield, and Gary Jimmerson play the usual guitars, keyboards, vocals, vibes, and drums while the fourth, Ryan Jeffery, accompanies the band's live presentation using 16mm Film Projectors), traffics in a hybrid style that's equal parts electronic folk and post-rock; reducing the group's sound to a mere equation, however, communicates little about the warm uplift the album's breezy tunes generate.

Opening the album strongly is “Somnambulist,” a delectable electronic-folk romp augmented by soft ‘la-la-la' choruses (Similar Anniversaries includes a “Somnambulist” video treatment whose outdoors imagery is as kaleidoscopic as the song itself), followed by “Aftershocks and Afterthoughts” (already heard on Moodgadget's excellent compilation The Rorschach Suite) which blazes a euphoric trail of celestial melodies and chanting vocals. The choirboy lead in “Farewell Weird Owl” naturally invites comparison to Sigur Rós and the song's yearning melodies are reminiscent of the Iceland band too; the entrancing vignette “Lawn Makers” also could pass for a Sigur Rós outtake. A robust drum punch gives Small Sails' material added heft and a live feel (the head-nodding lilt in “Earthbound With Parents” a case in point), and the occasional inclusion of vibes accentuates the band's post-rock side. The album ends memorably with the bucolic sparkle of “No Spirit Animal,” a placid invocation brightened by bell tinkles, acoustic guitars, and swaying rhythms. On second thought, perhaps an even better word to describe Similar Anniversaries is ‘intoxicating.'

October 2007