This week you will see a few albums that I've received from small bands over the last month and, although its taken me forever to get to them, they are ace. First one of the shelf is Rifle Meeker, the debut album from Los Angeles-via-Boulder, Colorado band StaG. StaG. It shimmers with so many Panda Bear references it would be overpowering, if Panda Bear wasn't one of the greatest solo artists out there at the moment. And the thing is, it transcends the comparison (if not Panda Bear himself) with the production values. The summery haze that permeates this dream-like existential drifter is so clear and beautiful that it is incredibly easy to find yourself lost in the sound, having inexplicably strayed from the path, and never wanting to find you way back to the real world. What's even more impressive is that this cacophonous beauty has been carved out by two guys who sound like a cross between Lockett Pundtt and Noah Lennox - if that doesn't make you weak at the knees, you aren't a sonic romantic...) And also the auxiliary percussion in tracks like 'Everyone Is Plaster' is warranted, not superfluous, and helps to buoy the soaring vocals. A very effective debut, and one I hope kicks StaG into the outer consciousnesses of all of you...
In their words, Rifle Meeker is about "living in a city I didn't think was right for me. It's about missing California and feeling like I was stuck along the seventeen-hour drive between Boulder and Calabasas, CA, constantly seeing road signs for places like Rifle, CO and Meeker, CO. It's also about going through a few months of constant panic attacks about issues that were way over my head. I think overall, though, it's an album about accepting that life in my early 20s comes with a lot of transitions and that relying on the constants in my life, that I care about, will make things a bit more manageable." Lofty? Maybe, but easily achieved.
Rifle Meeker is available at their Bandcamp here.
StaG - Whatapity
StaG - Everything Is Plaster
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