We can probably say without taking the risk of being inaccurate that Spirit System was born from the cold corpse of Elevator Action, but mostly from the still warm ashes of Telltale, the former musical project of Eric Gilstrap and Laurie Ruroden immediately after4 both musicians relocated from Brooklyn back to their native Winston Salem in North Carolina. It was the end of 2012 and along with it some brave new sonic adventures to both Eric and Laurie.
To cut a long story short, we should mention that the initial aim of Spirit System was to rework on some unfinished ideas and definitely give them a go for some sonic though not yet explores reverberation boundaries.
It didn’t take them long to bring to light their bedroom tapes effort in the form of «Together in The Merciful Dark», an EP which was released on January 1st 2013.
The first semester of 2014 brought a new member to the band, nonetheless than their longtime collaborator and friend Gary Guthrie once a member of Elevator Action to take good care of both drums and samplers.
Once the Spirit System holy trinity was completed, their symbiosis worked out smooth and nicely and most of all rewardingly in such a way that during the summer of 2014 they have not only played a bunch of shows, but also got into Galuminium Foil Productions to begin recording Spirit System’s debut full-length with a little help from Jeff Berner at the helm of production console, who was also in charge along with Max Goransson of additional guitars, synth, percussion and noise on some of the songs. The album was mastered by Alex DeTurk.
The recording process which ends up being most of the times a properly called creative process too lasted from July 2014 until January 2015. The album was initially scheduled for release in March 2015, but due to unexpected delays was rescheduled for March 1st, 2016, but in the meantime precisely in June 25st, 2015, the band decided to release «Afterblume» their second EP containing the extras from the recording sessions of the album.
Spirit System sonic imagery is anchored into the melodic gloom of post – punk derivatives maybe not so literally a «total sonic devastation», but admittedly a very good hallowed domain for ghosts and recurrent nightmares to come alive in a wasteland pinnacled of drone dark filtered neo psychedelic pop.
Spirit System’s music burns slowly, spiraling in some sort of warm unfinished disquiet or as I like to call it an atmospheric tamed anxiety that surrealistically hoovers the listener by means of swollen waves of reverbed delay. The aesthetics they present builds upon post-punk refractions, shoegaze and goth and as a final product redounds in a light gloom dark neo-psychedelia.
NIGHTFALLING - OUR SONG GUIDE
«This Endless Dance» intro reminded me of Soundpool’s “Mirrors in Your Eyes”, but the song evolved into a swirl of reverberating new wavy guitars and steady drum and bass rhythm along with Juno 8 typical 80’s synth lines widely common among bands like The Cars and The Psychedelic Furs. The mention to both bands is justified not only because they are present at spaces in the album and in this particular song, but also because Eric’s voice tone and the vocals are pretty consistent blend of Richard Butler and Ric Ocasek singing styles without emulation though the similarities are there.
«Lull» is a beautiful opium cloud of melodic dark guitar sewn with 80’s synth lines and a viciously syncopated rhythmic section that takes hold of the song giving it a wider sonic horizon. The vocals are Butler/Ocasek again and they are good. The general atmosphere inevitably reminds The Cure from their “Wish” period, but also December Sound “Silver Album”.
«Black Moon» mesmerizes the ear drum with that hypnotic persistent drum pattern and the strong bass line recalling the Peter Hook bass playing style in which the bass is played almost not to say literally like a guitar, this reinforced with vocals that bring to mind Andrew Eldritch low tone. I’d say that this song is mostly a cold wave with synth lines that push it heavily to the atmospheric 80’s with slight strokes of new wave. At spaces, it brings to mind New Order.
«December, Solitaire» which was co-written with Marty Rogers leaves the listener right from the beginning with the immediate feeling that something is going to be unveiled, maybe undressed. It is a take it off put it on, sway kind of feel. This sweet dream pop type of love song resounds to that Cocteau Twin-esque aesthetics of “Heaven or Las Vegas” album, irradiates a delicate feeling of sensuality, I’d even say that it is a song for any season, any lazy afternoon, almost an invitation to foreplay, beautifully crafted and structured with Laurie Ruroden’s sugary vocals enhancing the languid perfume pervading the song and exquisitely finished with the vocal duet.
«100,000 Days» is clearly one of the stand out songs of the album and the first that we can properly call a dense dark one. The atmosphere of this song is half “Pornography” and half “Disintegration”. It is extremely Cure-esque and there’s no way out of this feeling. Not saying they were thinking of The Cure while composing this particular song, nor that I am the number one The Cure fan, but the way it affects the ear drum leaves it with a suffocating vivid Cure-esque vibe dancing in the air which is clearly present not only in the guitar drenching and steady bass, but in the excellent drum pattern. Once again we have a very good vocals from Eric and the additional vocals from Laurie gives the song a touch of completeness that help making it almost perfect.
«Nest» is another stand out song a gorgeous trip of waves of distortion in the line of December Sound noise shoegaze, post-punk mix, a truly beautiful storm of psychedelia with some Television scented guitars, but on the other hand, I can’t help hearing here partial influences from The Church psychedelic drive in the “corpus” of the song. Showing off one more time a delightful rhythmic section with the bass and drums restlessly pounding the beat from start to finish. It is a super addictive track that makes the listener want to float amidst this swirling psychedelia.
«More Is More» the closing track of the album offers us a reverberating melodicism of wind blowing hypnotic guitars and vocal layers of distant murmurs building upon the lead vocals.
As an overall assessment I’d say that this is a fine, fine album with a set of seven songs that challenge the listener and does not give any room for remaining indifferent to the sonic release they propose. From track one to track seven we build the idea of something coherent and consistent, well written beautifully played, masterfully produced. There is circularity in this album not a repetitive one, but that of something perfectly finished like a life cycle that speaks to you as a whole piece of artistry. Well done!
Indievotion publishes the third interview of a series of in depth talkings with musicians and/or bands that we deeply cherish and that we envisage as groundbreaking acts away from mainstream numbness.
This interview courtesy of Laurie Ruroden from the Winston Salem (North Carolina) based dark psychedelic gaze trio, Spirit System scheduled early this year constitutes a real narrative of the adventures in the musical world both by Laurie and their musical mates, that such as many other bands worldwide are doing wonders in a DIY regular basis.
Spirit System debut album "Nightfalling" is due release March 1st with an album release party scheduled for March 4th at Snug Harbour (Charlotte, NC), in the meanwhile we are very proud to be working on their debut album review which will be published March 4thon our blog.
One final and grateful word to Laurie Ruroden (and Eric Gilstrap) for prompt and generous cooperation without which this amazing interview wouldn’t have been possible. Good reading!
1. In which way did your cultural and musical background contribute to forming a band?
I think a big part of my desire to be a musician was being surrounded by incredible touring and local bands in my formative years. I moved to Winston Salem with my family during my sophmore year of High School, and completely submerged myself into the music scene. It was raw and refreshing to my thirsty ears. Although I didn't pick up the bass until a few years later when I moved to Charlotte, I feel like it was the vivacity of the punk/industrial/hardcore scene in Winston that shaped my mind.
2. Before Spirit System was formed you were part of Tokyo Machine, Elevator Action, and Telltale. Tell us about this period and how it helped you to be an even better musician?
Well this period was over several years, between 2000 and 2010 to be exact. So let me summarize: Tokyo Machine was the first band that I joined and also where I first learned how to play bass. I had initially joined forces with Ryan Pace and Shannon Small with the notion I was to be their lead vocalist (in the vein of Everything But the Girl). After our first meeting/audition, I proved I was not yet comfortable in my own skin, so they were both quick to ask me if I would like to try my hand at bass. Of course I jumped at the chance! I immediately felt an innate bond with the instrument, and was not only able to play but also sing back up vocals straight away. Within 2 months I was already playing my first show with them at Fat City (Charlotte). Although my presence in the band was shortlived, it was a great introduction into the music world. It was also during this period that I met Eric. I could go into detail and ramble on about intimate particulars, but I will keep it brief and say our chemistry was instantaneous, and on multiple levels. Elevator Action came about pretty organically. It was suggested that we contact Gary Guthrie about playing drums with us. After the first rehearsal, we knew he was a great fit. Before we knew it we had half an album's worth of material, moved into together and were playing one of many house shows we threw at the infamous Jackson Avenue. Our sound could be best described anxious, post-punky garage rock. It was trashy and sexy, and we could always get a crowd moving. Within a year of being together we signed on with MoRisen Records, which allowed us the opportunity to record with the amazing John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile) for two albums (It's Just Addiction & Society,Secret), tour up and down the east coast, share the stage with many incredible bands and play several showcases at CMJ and SXSW, etc. But eventually it all came to a head and we went our separate ways. In early 2007 Eric and I decided to move to Brooklyn and briefly kept EA going by finding a few replacement drummers, until we finally decided to lay it to rest. Within the first 2 months of living in NY, Eric and I met Lauren Andino. She was brilliant, sick and twisted, so I immediately took a liking to her...and she played the fucking drums! After a few months of toying with the idea of starting a gothy shoegaze-esque band, the three of us decided to form Telltale in early 2008. We had played a few shows as a trio, then later on added our good friend Stephan Cherkashin to help fill out the wall of fuzzed-out sound. During this time we got to play with some incredible bands ranging from Ringo Deathstarr, Soundpool, Adam Franklin, The Vandelles, Foreign Resort, The Skydrops, to name a few. The only album by Telltale is the 2010 release, Altahmam. It was shortly after it's release, and our final tour together, that we called it quits.
3. You and Eric Gilstrap are long time partners/collaborators. After Telltale split up back in 2010, there was or appears to have been a musical hiatus that lasted until late 2012/early 2013. What had you been doing musically during this period?
It was actually a very quiet time for me musically. During this period I was debating on the idea of leaving Brooklyn, since I wasn't motivated to play music after Telltale and was just struggling to make ends meet in a city I adore. It was heartbreaking to even think about leaving my friends, who were like family to me...and even harder to think about saying goodbye to Eric. In January 2012 I moved back to North Carolina, Winston Salem to be exact. I hadn't lived in this city since high school and there were a lot of changes made to the downtown, so everything was shrouded with a haunting familiarity. After a while I found steady work, a cute little cottage to live in and Eric eventually moved down from Brooklyn (after being apart for nearly 7 months) to start our next creative endeavor together.
4. You and Eric spent quite a few years back and forth between North Carolina and Brooklyn (NY) and back again to North Carolina, where you are actually based now. Apart from the inherent stress of relocating, how would you describe both music scenes and how that influenced your music?
There's no shortage of great bands that hail from North Carolina, so we have been lucky enough to play with a mixture of diverse talent over the last few years, as well as some incredible touring bands such as A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Wildhoney and Lightfoils. Besides that, North Carolina has some fantastic venues in the region in which we are well recieved, namely Snug Harbor, The Garage, Reanimator Records, Krankies,The Luna Lounge and The Milestone. Not to mention the annual festivals like Phuzz Phest, Hopscotch, Moog Fest and Cringe-Con, which hold a broad spectrum of talent and concert-goers. The innovative vitality in Winston Salem and Charlotte alone is absolutely inspiring. There is something reassuring about being a part of a collective where you know nearly everyone, and you are able to experience how hard the artists around here work to create such a lively and driven scene. To compare NC to New York would be absurd, and to match it's energy would be even more silly. But it did open Eric and I up to a lot of opportunities and lifelong relationships with many bands and brilliant individuals. Whenever Eric and I go back to Brooklyn it feels like we never left, which makes it hard for us to leave.
5. Is there any particular meaning for the band’s name or is it merely a name with non-metaphysical significance?
Not really. We jotted down some notes and started piecing together words we thought sounded cool. All we needed was a bottle of red wine (or 3) and 2 frivolous minds...and voila.
6. As far as we know you are not a full-time musician. In which way does this interfere with your creative processes, rehearsal/recording logistics and touring?
I put in nearly as much time with rehearsals and the behind-the-scenes business aspect of the band as I do my bread winning job of bartending. I have been very lucky to work for people who have an understanding and appreciation for the arts, and I feel I do a good enough job that when I need any time off it is usually given to me. So there really isn't too much interference other than the lack of sleep at times. THAT I could always use more of.
7. Objectively which bands and/or musicians did particularly influence you and how do they relate to the music you make?
Slowdive, Pixies, and Lush certainly come to mind, for the layered vocals, guitar/bass techniques. Obviously, some of the influence of eighties darkwwave bands like jamc, the cure, chameleons, is there too. In recent years, i've been more influenced by bands like the vandelles, dead leaf echo, ringo deathstarr etc...let's get fuzzy!
8. Considering that each band member individually has specific music influences, how would you define Spirit System’s sound and what is the band’s musical genre comfort zone, if you think that there is one, and why?
I've been describing it to people as psych wave. It feels like we are landing somewhere between the darker reverb drenched hallways of "disintegration" and "directions to see a ghost" featuring hazy male/female vocal delivery of 90s gaze. so yeah, psychwave, gothgaze, hahaha, i guess thats our comfort zone.
9. Spirit System’s started as a duo and reshaped to a trio just like in Elevator Action and with the very same drummer (Gary Guthrie). How do you explain it in terms of empathy, sound redefinition, working process and band stability?
Well, we've always had a great musical rapport with each other. However, it took working with others before settling on being a trio. As far as redefining sound, it wasn't painstaking as Eric has always been a gazer at heart and constantly experimenting with electctronics and guitar efx. I think we wanted to do something that wasn't based on a party atmosphere, like when we were younger. It was a natural, although, slow progression that led us all to this particular sound.
10. Spirit System did a cover version of New Order’s seminal song “Dreams Never End” from their post-Joy Division trauma period. The final product is pretty good. The “nostalgic poppiness” of the original was diluted and exchanged for a thick foggy wall of sound allowing the song to expand. Tell us about this process and if there are any future covers on the making?
We wanted to basically deconstruct the original and put our on twist on the song. Eric felt like the lyrics deserved a lonely nightmarish treatment juxtaposed with droney, swirling background guitars. Carlos Bocanegra, the producer on that track, suggested i should layer a chorus of 4ad- esque vocals in the background. We are very pleased with the experiment in general and very grateful to work with Carlos and TBTCI (the blog that celebrates itself).
11. How would you describe Spirit System songwriting and the creative process as well as what is the lyrics main substrate?
Do they come to mind naturally, they are revised over a period of time before going to the studio or finished during the recording process itself?
Eric is the wizard behind all of the songs. He will spend several hours in our rehearsal space (which is now in our basement) either working on one song or coming up with ideas for several. He has enough songs in his memory vault to make a multitude of albums! Whenever we have free time together, I will join him in the basement to add my basslines over what he has written. Sometimes it takes a little bit, but usually by the end of the day we have a mainframe for a new song. He also tends to keep his lyric writing process secretive. I see him constantly scribbling and editing in journals, so something must be happeing in there. haha
12. “Together in the Merciful Dark” EP (2013) was the first release you and Eric made almost 3 years after Telltale’s breakup/indefinite hiatus and it seems to have worked out as a draft or a map for future creative days. Was this so?
Oh absolutely. Almost immediately after Eric moved down to Winston Salem, we started writing. We hadn't written anything together in over two years! This spark was created by a number of things, namely the death of a close friend and the rekindling of our relationship. There's definitely a haunting beauty behind those 3 tracks and it helped give us a platform for what is to be our first full length album, "Nightfalling".
13. Nightfalling due release is March 1st, 2016. This debut full length was initially announced in mid-2015, but instead the band released a second EP, Afterblume, in early summer of 2015, which consisted of the extras from the Nightfalling recording sessions. What went wrong or what contributed to such a delay?
We moved into a new house in the middle of the summer of 2015, which delayed our plans to release the album in the fall. We had also planned to release it on vinyl and were holding out a bit on some financial backing. So we decided to self release.
14. Elevator Action’s two albums were released through MoRisen and Telltale was not signed to any record label. How will it be with Nightfalling? What is your understanding of the music industry and in which way it affects independent/alternative bands from becoming fully professional?
Spirit System is self releasing, which is sort of common place for a lot of independent artists. As far as the music industry goes, I would love the support of a decent indie label, but the lack of being signed to one does not discourage me from continuing to write and release music, on top of playing shows and touring every chance we get. As long as I am alive, I will be creating and finding ways to get heard. To me, that is part of being professional.
15. Are there any plans concerning playing in Europe in a near future and touring the upcoming album or you’ll be touring it only in the US?
There are no plans as of yet, but we would LOVE the opportunity to tour in Europe. It's definitely in our sights and we will do everything we can to actualize this goal.
16. If you had to describe the past 16 years of your musical life experience, how would they be like?
Fortunate. I get to create with my best friend, and partner in nearly everything, on a regular basis. I also get to travel and share the stage with bands I love and respect. I have had some very exciting adventures over the last decade and a half, and that's just the beginning...
It’s not easy to make a cover song unless you decide to repeat the same formula of the original. The problem is that if you do so, you are literally mimicking without adding a surplus of creativity.
Take for example a book that you read. If you read it just once, you probably will stick to the narrative in order to follow the main plot. In a second reading you will take notice of things that escaped when you first read it. That’s where the book truly begins the moment you reconstruct its narrative and make it your own. The same happens with a theater play or a film script or in this case with a song.
After their beautiful and addictive debut album “Encompass” Hamsas Xiii are working on some new material and released last Valentine’s Day their brand new single which is a cover of the song “Let’s Go Out Tonight” written by Paul Buchanan from the 80’s Scottish band “The Blue Nile”. This song is part of their second and most successful album, “Hats”, which gave them the possibility to tour as Rickie Lee Jones support act during her US Flying Cowboys Tour in 1990. As a band “The Blue Nile” was particularly influenced by bands/musicians such like 10 CC, Roxy Music/Brian Ferry, Steely Dan, and Japan/David Sylvian, which somehow enabled them to build this sort of a certain kind of lush and posh nocturnal adult cinematic pop.
The cover now released by Hamsas Xiii makes the original look ordinary and uninteresting, even boring because they have transformed the song in such a way that they made the cover sound much better than the original with a Goth-esque approach to the original song. Hamsas Xiii made the song much darker transformed it in a wonderful, desperate chaotic love lament where keys remind Diamanda Galas though the song evolves in a more This Mortal Coil-esque direction, displaying a dense piano atmosphere, weaving layers of sound cut by a jagged edgy guitar blasting in the distance while a steady pounding snare sound keeps the rhythmic texture. The vocals are simply brilliant and heartfelt.
This week we have Portland’s based band The Shrike album review. The band was named after an iconic character from the “Hyperion Cantos”, a science fiction novel series and was formed back between late 2012 and early 2013, by Matt Sipes (bass), Jamie Lynn (vocals and violin), Steven "The Craw" Hall (guitar) and Darren "Pitbull" Linder (drums).
After almost two years of songwriting the band decided to head to the Opal Studio, up in Portland, to take the music to the next stage of commitment. The year of 2014 would not end without “The Shrike” debut full-length being recorded with a little help from producer and mixing engineer Kevin Hahn.
The tastes and musical influences of each one of “The Shrike” founding members of are wide and variegated. They range from the classic Slavic composer Leos Janacek to Slayer; from Rush to Dead Can Dance though one can not actually find evidence of either Janacek or Dead Can Dance in their work. The Shrike is above all effectively influenced by led Zeppelin, Heart, Rush, Kansas and Montrose.
The problem is that this risk to over simplify their sound. Due to previously mentioned variegation of individual musical influences we are confronted with a much richer tapestry of sonic intertwining than just the mere hard and heavy rock formula.
It is precisely because of their inner diversity which constitutes the band’s most valuable asset considering that they don't play only by the hard rock book of golden rules (if there is any) that their compositions and creativeness finds its berth on pretty eclectic sources which allow them to properly claim that they are building a sound of their own and not only mimicking the classic hard and heavy blast.
The Shrike has a non-mainstream feature that is the use of the electric violin and this peculiarity contributes to add to their music a Celtic turn, a gipsy feel, an eastern touch of class to some of their songs resulting in a pleasant combination with both the top-notch guitar riffs plus the killer rhythm section that, after having listened to their album more than a dozen times, enables us to consider that “The Shrike” are indeed far from purely being a hard rock band and decidedly not a heavy metal one.
The Shrike is much closer to what some 70s so called hard rock bands did and the way some of them slowly headed towards a certain prog-rock and folk rock experimentation just like Uriah Heep and Nazareth have done than the opposite.
The Shrike debut album best kept secret builds upon not only on the undeniably good rhythm section filled with energetic and elaborate drumming, along with some vigorous bass lines that apart a Slayer and Slipknot temptation seem quite indebted of blues-jazzy and funky rhythmic patterns.
But there is also a very good guitar work with a rather pretty cool set of riffs and some well crafted chord progressions and some poisonous soloing that spread throughout the bunch of songs. Last but not least there is that portion of additional magic powders provided by a thrilling electric violin that inevitably pushes the band to the above mentioned Eastern/Celtic-Irish/Gypsy groove.
Finally, a brief note about the vocals which are undeniably good. Jamie Lynn has a powerful sweet voice and nice timbre though I doo disagree with the Ann Wilson/Pat Benatar comparison because there is a clear difference of vocal range and release between the three of them.
In overall terms “The Shrike” first long play has a good set of songs from which I’d highlight the stand out ones: The Return, Fall in Line and Shark. As a final word, it pleases me to say that the album was a nice aural experience, it denotes that there is really good individual as well collective musicianship which turns out to be a great working basis for the next album (besides the fact that Matt Sipes has parted ways with the band and was replaced by Roya Hellbender, whom I am sure will keep the bass lines blasting).
In any case this album left me with the feeling that the band is still thriving for an aesthetic/conceptual definition of their musical choices which explain the great variety of influences and details all along the album. This album is a good starting point, a good draft for the future, and we have to expect that the band can reach a higher evolutionary musical stage.
If I could give any word of advice to The Shrike I would definitely say that they should focus on either hard and heavy or prog-rock or just classic rock but avoid mixing them all because such a choice would ruin the uniqueness they seek for. I truly foresee great potential in this Portland four piece, so i do expect that they can step forward in style.
INDIEVOTION rating for The Shrike self-titled debut album: 7.0/10
The Morelings formed by Kedra Caroline (bass and vocals) and Matthew William (guitars) are definitely one of the most serious cases of talent and aesthetic intentionality of the present indie music scene. Their career is inevitably punctuated by a rather accurate sense of purpose translated in a beautiful blend of dreamy sonic wall and nostalgic imagery that traverses time dimensions.
Today they have released the official imagery for the title track of “No Sign” EP (2015) and by doing so, they have beyond doubt closed (at least for me), a mesmerizing triad of videos perfectly matching the very essence of the set of songs from their debut EP.
If there is something absolutely fascinating concerning The Morelings is their clear statement of a proper aesthetic conception resulting in the "naissance" of a clear filmographic emphasis sustaining as well as supporting the poetic energy of music and lyrics of each song. That’s what is hardly visible in loads and loads of bands: aesthetic coherence between words, music and image.
The Morelings clearly understand that this question matters and that explains the common language adopted in all the three videos easily translating them into a unique piece of music and film. Most music videos lack of coherence simply because they seem to illustrate songs as they were separate elements and they attach an image to those songs that the mainstream people can easily attach to. Thankfully The Morelings go the opposite way.
Every video from the band is plenty of amazing pieces of detail ranging from a physical or metaphorical permanence of veils, slightly blurred image juxtaposition, the fluidity of natural elements, some intense Polaroid-esque feel namely on “Too Far” video, a transverse sense of elegance that is not superimposed, among some few other aspects. Overall it prevails a thrilling semiotic persistance where The Morelings are seriously grounded and from where they build some aura of exquisite myth and that is the right thing to be done. One final, but not less important word for the sublime and immaculate work of filmmaker Bob Sweeney.
I have written once in some incidental comment that The Morelings stand as one of the best things after Cocteau Twins. I stick to that very statement without any disrespect for the work of so many bands that I love and follow. By saying this I mean that in the actual state of the indie music scene The Morelings emerge as the perfect heirs and best interpreters of what I consider the classic shoegaze/dream pop sonic boundary, so brilliantly crafted by the above mentioned well-known trio of Glaswegian shoegazers. The Morelings are a post-punk, shoegaze dream pop duo (although they have started as trio), based in Philadelphia and formed by Kedra Caroline (bass and vocals) and Matthew William (guitars).
The band started back in the summer of 2013 when Kedra Caroline and Matthew William following previous musical common interests began working on a few song ideas. The songwriting process surely went pretty well because they’ve soon decided to move forward. In January 2014, The Morelings were ready to take their music to another level of sound maturity already with Chris Jordan in control of the drum kit. During the summer of 2014 they had the opportunity to play a set of several shows, allowing them to go through live performance and song confidence ability test as well as measure the public reception and reaction to their work. In September and October of that same year they got back again to the studio for the final recording and mixing details of what would become the immensely beautiful three song debut EP “NO SIGN” which would be officially released in January 8th 2015.
A whole year has gone by after the band began working on their debut EP recording project and the world would soon be ready for the dreamiest fifteen minutes forty-six seconds trip of ethereal vocals, dreamy guitar and tantalizing percussion of 2015... My first encounter with The Morelings left me with the feeling that they had been playing and writing songs together for ages considering the expressiveness of their work which strangely denoted quite an impressive “how-we-want-it-to-sound-like-and-where-we-want-to-go” state of mind because as an emerging band and taking into account the non-imitative way they seemed to be re-creating and setting the pathways of their sound. Above all what I have digested from this initial “Hey-we-are-The Morelings” was that all of a sudden I got struck by a time warp that drove me back and forth in loop mode to and through the 80s and back again by means of a masterfully non-visible hand of subtlety and refreshing sonic textures that I am sure to have heard before with a similar powerful spellbinding effect.
The Morelings have that mystique aura of mystery that easily gives room to another time dimension within that time road where one is supposedly travelling through and pushes us towards a nostalgic delight, some refined past perfect where the recurrent tridimensionality of past, present and future work as a phenomenological blend that make one long for a future that is yet to come, but which in fact is located in the past and all this dialectics of time balanced by a present that never really is because it flows at the speed of light. The outcome of it all is something like a rare fusion of memoirs, presence, absence and longing simultaneously entwining. A daydream gaze.
As someone permanently searching for new bands in the indie music bandwidth I have to say that I did find The Morelings by mere lucky strike while googling for shoegaze/dream pop novelties in the cyberspace. Clearly stated previously, the first strong feeling I had about them was that they sounded like Cocteau Twins circa 83. The Morelings have totally surprised me with that uncommon gift of making me literally re-vivify emotions from thirty years ago which is almost an absurdity. What an amazing experience it is when you’re suddenly floating on air in fluffy clouds of nostalgia. A priceless treasure of limitless beauty.
I remember that I stood frozen like for some moments completely stunned and chilled. What a strange feeling it was. Years after a moment in time a different band from a different place on earth has the same effect on us as The Cocteau Twins have had years before. The very same past life sensation the very same out of time experience. Am I getting lame or what?! All this got me wondering about how amazingly fantastic this was, but why would a North American band from Philadelphia sound so exquisitely to Cocteau Twins without even daring to imitate them, though perfectly sketching the very essence of timelessness ideal embedded in the work of the famed Scottish shoegazers? Considering that if we go back to the early 80s, Philadelphia and Glasgow have probably anything else in common this was a little bit weird.
When one considers that the core substance of The Cocteau Twins sonority lies between 80 and 84 which is equivalent to say between “Garlands” and “Victorialand” that makes it even harder to put in perspective the fact that three young individuals sounded to me like they were doing this for ages in 2015. For a moment I’ve even considered if The Morelings could either be a tribute band or by any astrophysical chance a parallel universe version of the Cocteau Twins without being them because as written before and this ought to be highlighted they are far from being imitators or replicators of a formula of sound.
The Morelings stand out as original and genuine. Yes, I have listened to this Philly trio dozens of times on repeat mode. I still do. Don’t get any fed up with it. There were times when I compulsively had to plunge myself into The Morelings before sleeping to get anihilated in the depths of their musical dreamland. The band builds an almost ghostly spectral sonic atmosphere resulting in some sort of solemn pagan liturgy reinforced by the fact that front woman Kedra Caroline naturally imposes herself as a cinematic character out off of French nouvelle vague movie aesthetics. She looks like 60s and 70s French singer France Gall, but her voice has the tone and homesickness of highly famed French singer Françoise Hardy which means that I can perfectly imagine Kedra Caroline starring in one of Godard, Chabrol or Rohmer films.
When one finds a band like The Morelings it is almost inevitable not to acknowledge that they’ve perfectly understood how that magnificent unstoppable wheel of layered sounds where Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Chameleons spun their magic threads works. Why am i saying it? Well there would be no shoegaze or dreampop without The Banshees. They are quintessential to The Cocteau Twins early sound matrix. Apart from what I’ve just said The Morelings poiesis or artistic process does not seem to be solely rooted in the late 80s post punk shoegaze and dream pop. Quite the opposite. The band seem to be pretty well identified with the first half of the 80s decade, but surprise, surprise, surprise they also to be in tune with mid 70s dreamy existential folk gaze.
It may sound astonishingly absurd, but when listening to the Philly based trio work, it comes to mind the likes of sublime Sandy Denny “Who Knows Where The Time Goes”, Richard and Linda Thompson “I want to see the Bright Lights Tonight” creative period, the great Nick Drake “Things Behind The Sun” or “Northern Sky” not to mention the omnipresence of Bert Jansch and bits of early baroque John Renbourn in the layers of sound, waving out from Matthew William guitar playing, in spite of Kedra Caroline vocal arrangements actually giving quite some help to sustain this so called relatively diffused folk influence not to mention the percussion embellishments also so present in the mid 70s existential folk.
As stated a few lines above, I went chasing for other potentially significant influences that could be spotted in The Morelings work considering that i have listened not only to their EP but to all of their available material and songs being two of them covers. One is from New Order’s “Lonesome Tonight” and the other one a cover of “Stars in Your Eyes” from a coup de coeur of mine the marvellous bass player Kendra Smith (wherever she is) a founding member of Dream Syndicate and Opal. When one listens to a wider range of songs by The Morelings that allows us to conclude that, for instance, there is no audible contribution from Lush like some seem to believe as well as there is none from Slowdive either.
If I am permitted to say it there is no escape for the Philadelphia trio from the Cocteau Twins tetrahedral construction which includes “Garlands”, “Head Over Heels”, “Treasure” and “Victorialand”. They are immersed and soaked into that universe without regret. Anyway, there seems to be some other visible influence coming from the likes of The Chameleons “Script of The Bridge” seminal album. All of this carefully seasoned with Paisley Underground reminiscences.
This consideration may seem abusive at first, but when one listens to The Morelings EP under a Cocteau Twins radar all doubts vanish. If we apply the same procedure to songs such as “Before” and “I Swear” we can easily listen The Chameleons more than resonating in the background, though it really is The Cocteau Twins atmosphere that reigns like an elegant foam cloud all through The Morelings eight song set.´In fact, when one picks the magnificent EP “NO SIGN”, a rare case of aesthetic coherence and cohesiveness which stands by its own merit as one of the highest EP moments of 2015.
The melodic nature, intrinsic to the three songs of the EP fully affirm the density of post punk legacy in a dream pop, shoegaze framework something that isn’t surprising at all because “NO SIGN” tunes itself mostly in the obscure anxiety presented in "Garlands" and "Head Over Heels" dragging within the very essentials of post punk like for instance the steady hypnotic elaborate bass lines, the exploding guitar choruses with shimmering clean delays or glassy diffused tones, the tribal drumming upgraded with rhythmic patterns which help the vocals to rise to the borderline of undisclosed open spaces flirting with nostalgic ambient. The Morelings are as far as we know, actively working on their first and long awaited full-length and we estimate that it would be one of the most ethereally beautiful moments of 2016 .
We are acquainted with the usual and effortless attempts people make to spread the word for their end year musical preference list. This year was absolutely amazing concerning the musical experience harvest. So many good things were made by the ineffable sowers of wonderment known as musicians and this radically goes without any gender discrimination. Talent is obviously genderless and this must be taken in mind by each and every eardrum... We also made lists. It was the least we could do to show not only the deepest love for the music expression, but also that we are paying attention to the sonic beauties produced all throughout the year and value the artistic contribution made by the aforementioned "sowers".
The one we are posting now concerns the BEST LP'S of 2015 according to our criteria and editorial policy. This list is the end result of listening 600 different albums and more than once. A huge, but pleasurable task! Each image shown below links to some sort of information about the choice we've made, all you have to do is click .
There is no hierarchy from top to bottom or order at all that leads to conclude that one of these 130 LP's is the best of them all. They are all intrinsically very good in their particularities and specific creative contexts and that is the reason why they are part of INDIEVOTION's 2015 end year list.
We can probably say without taking the risk of being inaccurate that Spirit System was born from the cold corpse of Elevator Action, but mostly from the still warm ashes of Telltale, the former musical project of Eric Gilstrap and Laurie Ruroden immediately after4 both musicians relocated from Brooklyn back to their native Winston Salem in North Carolina. It was the end of 2012 and along with it some brave new sonic adventures to both Eric and Laurie. 
