Artist: Town and Country
Date Released: January 24, 2006
Label: Thrill Jockey
Produced By:
Tracklisting:
- Sun Trolley
- Fields and Parks of Easy Access
- Phoney Fuckin' Mountain
- Bee Call
- Cloud Seeding
- Blue Lotus Feet
- King of Portugal
- Belle Isle
- Almost at White Glass and Sun
- Up Above
Review[]
Chicago's Town and Country, a quartet made up of four multi-instrumental and experimental artists, reemerges after three years with their fourth full-length for Thrill Jockey. Up Above states from the opening note that the group has never been more in sync musically, and has used this realization to experiment with their sound encompassing this go around Eastern influences and instrumentation. Utilizing the sitar, shakuhachi (a Japanese flute) and khaen (a Chinese mouth organ) to name a few, Town and Country's already ethereal style takes on zen-like powers and has the ability to both entrance the listener into arms and lull them into meditation. Like previous outings, Up Above is very personal and graceful, thanks to the continued close-mic recording without amplification and the use of apartments as recording spaces. This particular album really sounds akin to Mice Parade and Fridge, especially with the heavy Eastern influence included within the pastoral post-rock and chamber jazz. Up Above is an inciteful look into the possibilities of genre-bending, and yet another successful and forward-looking full length album from Town and Country.