Out Like Lambs – Field Recordings Vol. 1
Brown Buffalo Tapes 2010
[tags: folk, noise, garage, lo-fi, tape. 2010]
Listen while reading:
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No, the picture above has nothing to do with goregrind or death metal or even animal abuse. It’s the cover artwork of the new Out Like Lambs release and it shows a picture of their cat which lost an eye “but sure is one happy cat”, as Michael from the band states. Now that you know that, we can go on to the music. Filed Recordings Vol. 1 is the second release by CFM praised band Out Like Lambs and it’s only available in a limited edition of 100 cassettes. So you better be quick and get your order in to receive one of the rare tapes.
But I’m sure the music will surprise you, if you know and loved the sound of the debut record, for Field Recordings Vol. 1 isn’t an actual album, it’s more like a collection of experiments, b-sides and other material from the depths of Out Like Lambs’ HDs. This explains why there are lo-fi garage rock tracks with authentic zero quality recording (Last Summer) as well as typical Out Like Lambs songs like the wonderful Old Whispers with nice and smooth acoustic guitars and a nocturnal atmosphere. Certainly it would be a normal review strategy to compare this follow up to the debut EP, but in this case I don’t see that this would make much sense, because it’s not really meant as follow up release. Michael says:
‘field recordings’ is basically b-sides and us getting ‘experimental’, genre jumping and having fun. going to keep on with the more folky sound but this is a good excuse to get the tunes from just rotting on a hard drive
Right he is. And this is also the way I want to look at the release, because otherwise, it would be too much of a stylistic clash. I make it clear to you: this is a very cool release and if you like folk (and noise pop and lo-fi rock and jazz improvisations), this could be something you might want to own. For it is exactly that. To consume the music the right way, you should classify the track into two groups: the loud and experimental one and the more traditional folky one. The loud tracks are the opener, Last Summer, the above mentioned lo-fi garage rock thing Archangel, a very explosive mixture of noise pop/rock and jazz improvisation, and Little Creature, a also very lo-fi psychedelic garage rock/pop piece of music. Those three tracks shape the whole recording because they are so much different than the rest. You will automatically think of them when thinking of Field Recordings Vol. 1.
Group two, the more folky tracks, contains five songs that are not that unfamiliar with the ones of the debut. And as Michael said, the tracks are basically b-sides and naturally not as outstanding as the previous tracks for the proper release. But they are still very good and better than much music you’ll find while browsing the net for good folk. Manolin is one example of how great b-sides can be and it’s also the track that reminds me most of the original Out Like Lambs sound: strings, flute, harp(?), guitar, drums, percussions, piano…there’s a lot going on in there. But still the track stays gentle and lovely. If the next full length or EP will sound like this, I know that Out Like Lambs will grow a real big fanbase – CFM is already convinced and following!
To get your copy of the tape, head over to the band’s MySpace and order it from there by writing an e-mail or pm. Go, Out Like Lambs!
Have I mentioned that they sound a lot like Yo La Tengo, especially in the non folky tracks?
[...] on a hard drive”. I love the track Archangel and Old Whispers. Check out this review of them HERE to listen to the tracks themselves, I can’t figure out how to pull the music off the cassette, [...]