New neighbors moved into the apartment underneath me, and i'm quite sure a flock of teenage girls managed to squeeze into a small two-bedroom. What kind of human beings get together on a Sunday evening and sing Marvin Gaye and Beyonce at the top of their feeble lungs? Teenage girl human beings. I spent twenty minutes "Boo'ing" through the ventilation system. Fortunately I've had lots of great music sent to my inbox in the past few weeks, one such artist is Egg&I. Isaac Ashlind’s sound is completely unique, elements of traditional folk splice with waves of dreampop, it’s almost as if Edward Sharpe and Washed Out made an album in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Bouncing around Oregon and spending time in Columbia, there are palpable floral footprints throughout the EP, sunshine and rain meets sand and dreams. ‘Bricks’, Ashlind’s strongest effort, lulls the listener into hypnosis before taking a melodic turn towards lush synthetics and finger-plucked bliss. The result is gorgeous, and truly unlike anything I’ve ever heard. At times the EP takes haunting turns, particularly towards the end of ‘Sleep Paralysis’ when the bass turns seismic. Yet a subtle optimism seems to prevail throughout the EP, and ‘Oxytent’ brings us full circle as our consciousness swoons and careens between dreams and reality. The tension climaxes breifly, and It’s a beautiful end to a lucid and lush EP soaked in sunshine.
Show Isaac some love via bandcamp and pick up his album for free, if you like.
Egg&I – Bricks