somesurprises - Year Without Spring / V. Vecker - Heavy Gestures
A little over a year after their awesome Perseids LP, Seattle's somesurprises is back with a short-but-very-sweet digital EP, with proceeds going to Super Familia King County, a local mutual aid group. Perseids was a relatively revved-up, full-band affair; the drum-less Year Without Spring leans towards the more ethereal side of their sound, with Natasha El-Sergany's vocals floating over a dreamy wash of mellotron and guitar. Just about 10 minutes of music, but worthy of endless replays. (And hey, my interview with Natasha from 2024 is still over on Aquarium Drunkard ...)
Meanwhile, somesurprises guitarist Josh Medina has revived the Obscure & Terrible label with Kole Galbraith to release Vancouver BC-based V. Vecker's excellent Heavy Gestures, a collection of moody and beautiful ambient pieces that encourage (and reward) deep listening a la Pauline Oliveros. The longer Vecker goes, the more hypnotic it gets — by the time you get to the end of the almost 16-minute "Grains of Sorrow," you'll be fully transformed.