Summer Lawns - First We Waited, Then It Started Review
by Eric Bodrero
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Those of you who like hushed vocals and a spare, quiet lushness in your indie music will be interested to know that Jeremy Linzee and Matt Helsinga of the Summer Lawns have your best interest in mind. Conceived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the band actually began as a duo with songs made especially for voice and just two guitars, but has developed into an epic foursome complete with inspired cellist Laurel Birkey and percussion perfectionist Kieran Kelly. The Summer Lawns take a minimalist approach to songwriting, yet have a sound that quickly washes over and hypnotizes you to the point where reality is blurred with flourishing dreamscapes and a warm, fuzzy radiance that seeps into your bloodstream as you float down a cloudy, brightly lit chasm to nowhere.On a record where ambiance is the norm and loudness is replaced with atmospherics, the Summer Lawns have created a superb and brilliant piece of work in First We Waited, Then It Started, a record that at first comes across as slow and uninspired, but quickly jettisons to great heights and proves itself quite ingenious in both intellectual songwriting and masterful composition. Every note is beautiful and stirring, with wispy instrumentals and charming-albeit subtle-programming, especially in album closer "Choke." This is the quietest moments from Radiohead mixed with the luxuriance of early Low and sprinkled with a spattering of And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out-era Yo La Tengo. More a work of art than a collection of songs laid to disc, First We Waited, Then It Started is not to be missed by anyone with a heart and a soft spot for the gentle and placid.
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Summer Lawns - First We Waited, Then It Started Label:Isidore Records
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