I’ve been thinking a lot about the time I drove across the country with a few friends of mine and what the future holds for each of us. Summer 2015, a group of 5 of us decided to pack up a Dodge Caravan and hit the road to Arches National park with high spirits and stops-a-plenty along the way. I think back on this journey and although the idea of picking up and road-tripping isn’t new; everyone’s lived experience of it is and should be cherished as such. Throughout the trip I had many great experiences, some of which I have completely forgot due to the poison of time, but nonetheless some part of me acts differently because of this short 8 day stint. Being able to witness the changing landscape at such a rapid pace, mostly because we had to speed to make time, made a lot of the country slam into a blur of all environments. Honestly, trying to remember these blurs creates a mushed painting of nostalgia and feelings, that I wouldn’t trade for anything else; this mental image, I also would say, accurately describes how I feel when I listen to this record.
Drowsy, a band originally from Denver and called “The Baltic”, have been on the scene
for sometime, recording a solid EP called Archipelago. They have now since up and rooted
themselves to Los Angeles and while living in this land have decided to create this self-titled
diddy and release it through Pittsburgh label, Misra Records (who also released Archipelago).
Listen, I get it, I could draw on endless comparisons of who these folks sound like, but
I’m just going to leave that for the lil’ text bump I do at the end of all these pieces. Drowsy have
created a soundtrack, that draws to the surface, an instance of feelings and memories in my
mind that I didn’t know I needed until I listened to it on repeat for the past couple of days.
“Simply Jess” carries the weight of every landscape that I saw from Pennsylvania to Utah, and
the instrumentation reflects that; going from valley to peak on a sonic journey with breathtaking
guitar, pounding bass, and a drum kit that feels like it’s the size of Lake Huron. “Lapsing” comes
in softly and then heaves its weight like the massive thunderstorm my friends and I drove
through in Colorado, and by the end of the song, much like the storm, I’m very glad to be alive
and thankful for the experience.
Annie Dillard talks about the cyclical nature of time in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, when she
stumbles upon a serpent skin that seems to be tied in a knot. When she attempts to find the
knot she is unable to. This leads her to go on a tangent about what exactly it means to
experience something; she wants her time spent at the cabin on Tinker Creek to be hers and
every changing of the seasons to be new. She professes she doesn’t want someone else’s
“used weather” while contemplating how the first person differentiated the seasons as distinct
and separate and not just one continuous event. What I’m trying to say is, I can sit here talking
about Jack Kerouac and a bunch of famous shoegaze, but I really want to stress the importance
of going into this record clean and finding out for yourself what these songs can help you
discover. You can listen to “used shoegaze” anytime, try something new on for size.
If you are reading/listening from LA, be sure to hit up their EP release show on March 2 with Ben McKenzie, Bandy, and Lo Haze at Ham And Eggs Tavern!
RIYL: Slowdive, Pity Sex, LSD and the Search for God
Favorite Tracks: Simply Jess, Lapsing
Follow Drowsy