State River Widening
State River Widening
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State River Widening
State River Widening
Rocket Girl (UK), 1999
RiYL: Directions In Music, Aerial/Papa M, Gastr Del Sol, Pullman, Tortoise |
Indeed, State River Widening embodies the sum total of its creators' influences, which range from the tingling cymbals and marimba countermelodies favored by Tortoise, to the acoustic guitar repetitions of Gastr Del Sol, to the calming simplicity of David Pajo's Aerial and Papa M projects. In reality, there's not a whole lot on State River Widening that smacks of post-everything originality. Still, this record evokes a kind of internal longing that should find kindred spirits with many in the U.S. indie underground (at press time, the album is available only via the U.K. label Rocket Girl).
Although grounded in the ideals of organic guitar/bass/drums musicianship, State River Widening employs organs and assorted electronics for the sake of both texture and noodling. The sound effects and playful keyboards that encircle the 12-minute "Charmfield" certainly smack of Tortoise's 1998 TNT album, but the real problem is that the song never gets past its lone slinky bass groove. The dreamy "Peach Republic" suffers from the same fault, its pretty melody repeated for far too long. "Cable Car" splits the difference, limiting its jolly strumming to precisely two minutes.
But elsewhere, repetition triumphs over melodic stasis, particularly on opener "Amsterdam Green." Much like the herb that bears its name, the track fades in slowly, almost the musical equivalent of warming up in front of a fire after too long in the cold. The grinning, layered guitar picking and no-nonsense drumming have all been done before, but here, they burn brightly. The sad melodica strains and "field recordings" of "Interlaken" don't make it original, yet the gray, back porch worldview they conjure is nearly tangible.
Thus is State River Widening's ace -- its abililty to manipulate even the slightest new bit into something more. The chugging fan brush percussion on closer "Among The Corn Rose" is just what's needed to divert attention from the unchanging melody, while the prominent bottom end on the essentially two-chord "Le Mars" spotlights the drums as a lead instrument, recalling a similar phenomenon found on Bundy K. Brown's magnificent 1996 Directions In Music album.
Those who dismiss State River Widening for its familiar reference points will ultimately miss out on an album that is the ideal accompaniment for good, old-fashioned introspection. Thinking cap not included.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"