Washington based duo Cock and Swan make breathless pastoral folk music, a kind of drifting melodic melange of sounds, anchored by intricate, at times almost hyperactive percussion. Stash is their fourth album, and it possesses a weary kind of weight, these amorphous angelic female vocals float over guitars, drums, pianos and horns. At times the music builds in energy and it feels almost counter to the vocals, yet the vocals are at the centre of this music, the emotional heart of Cock and Swan. Their serene melancholy sets the tone, creates the world.
The press release suggests links to Boards of Canada or perhaps Mum, but the overall mood is much more reminiscent of the criminally underrated UK outfit Hood. It’s something about the weary pop nature of the music, the gentle grooves and experimental flourishes that never threaten to overpower the beauty of the music, that enables you to draw the comparison.
Strangely for an album this pure, this reflective, percussion plays quite an active if not unconventional role. It’s often somewhat hyperactive discovering an energy that the rest of the instrumentation doesn’ possess. At times it works together with the rest of the instrumentation, at others counter, snare heavy and jazzy, yet it’s just another element of interest and inventiveness. Whilst the album initially feels fiercely acoustic, there are these near hidden electronic gestures, often interacting with the percussion. The duo have roped in some percussion assistance from Adam Kozie (The Pollens) and multi instrument assistance such as cello, flute and marimba from the multi skilled William Ryan Fritch who records for Lost Tribe under his Vieo Abuingo moniker.
Ultimately Stash is a quietly beautiful album of tranquil simplicity, a gentle acoustic folk music with enough depth and space to effortlessly draw the listener in to make it become our world too.
Bob Baker Fish
