Steinbrink creates a soundscape of layered keyboards and reverse guitar/keyboards over the top that provides a very Eno-esque interlude- and also presents us another break from form. Tangerine starts as a field recording from the street, with the sound of bells echoing in the distance, bouncing off buildings. I see a bird.” A simple looping organ progression, sampled drums, and a two step bass/guitar riff create a dreamy/trippy beat and the vocal melody carries the day, closing on the line, “Burn every molecule inside of me. It’s So Pretty (What You Did For Me) is a good example of Steinbrink’s narrative form: “I’m afraid I’ll meet infinity. The lyrics are non-linear, and the words are carefully and beautifully chosen, very much in the Colin Newman/Graham Lewis tradition. This is a collection of very pretty songs about a not-always welcoming imagined reality. It’s a very internal world- but a very real one. On Arranged Waves, Steinbrink’s applies the same analytical formula, only this time out focusing on how thoughts, perceptions, and memories are constructed. They are pretty songs about horrific things in an imagined future. Stephen Steinbrink’s previous album, I Drew A Picture, was partially a concept album with more than a few songs describing the decline of Phoenix, Arizona, following the total (and inevitable) depletion of water. Not connected, but not disconnected either #WAVES X NOISE REVIEW FULL#In my mind the full contour lies” and “I see what I can’t see.” Arranged Waves is the soundtrack to a person creating a brand new life and learning to live in a brand new world. Synesthetic Ephemera pairs a simple piano melody drone with an overdriven slide guitar- while the vocals carry the melody with a lines like “Leaves are dead. Other songs push the envelope and go places that he has never visited before. There is a very distinctive southwestern groove used on songs like Sand Mandalas, an artifact of his life growing up in the desert southwest. The introduction of new musicians into his DIY process added a new flavour to Arranged Waves- and showcase Steinbrink’s ability to keep raising the bar and expanding his range. Steinbrink is constantly pushing and challenging himself musically- and he has a very deep well to draw from, On Arranged Waves, additional sonics were provided by some very distinguished friends that included Eli Moore (bass), Ashely Erikson (drums/vocals/slide guitar), Jen Grady (cello), Andrew Dorsett (percussion/keyboards), and Tom Filardo (guitar). But this time out, the arrangements are more tightly woven, and very artfully constructed from overlapping melodies. A Simple Armature of Your Ideal World could have been easily at home on I Drew A Picture. Musically, Arranged Waves is both similar and dissimilar to Steinbrink’s previous work. The musicianship is a unique blend of folk, ambient, rock- but not tied to any one genre long enough to be type-cast. Stephen Steinbrink is not a shrinking violet DIY folk singer- he brings a level of punk sensibility to his material through brutal honesty using carefully chosen words and beautiful melodies. The full band pulls out the stops and a song about an overly sensitive person plays as great pop. While the lyrics describe a level of insecurity, the cruelty of honest thoughts, and the vulnerability brought by exposing these thoughts- the music does show us everything. The opening track, And Now You See Everything, can be taken symbolically and literally. The lyrics are intensely personal and the arrangements are thoughtfully woven from acoustic guitars, cello, keyboards, percussion, and short bursts of electric guitar. He sings softly, in a metre and style that adds a layer of additional complexity to the music. Steinbrink is a giant of a man that sings in a near soprano. At the same time he continued to write new material, and transplanted himself from Phoenix, Arizona to Olympia, Washington – where ‘Arranged Waves’ was recorded. In 2012, he released the brilliant ‘I Drew A Picture’, toured the United States, and in early 2013 extended the tour to Europe. Over the past three years, Steinbrink has written, recorded, and released six full-length albums. Steinbrink thinks about a lot of things- often simultaneously, and his deconstructed, and always interesting thought processes put to words are at the heart of his latest release, Arranged Waves. He was deeply engaged in the conversation, describing his preferred methodology for mic’ing instruments while also intently focused on mending a pair of pants. I once had a very pleasant conversation with Stephen Steinbrink about ribbon microphones while he was mending a pair of pants on my back porch during the middle of his national tour with Emperor X. Stephen Steinbrink ‘Arranged Waves’ ( Holy Page)
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