Search - Stamen & Pistils :: Towns

The second record from Stamen & Pistils is a diagonal step into new sonic terrain. On 2005 s End of The Sweet Parade, the band built a soundscape that was largely reliant upon density for texture, with lyrical themes focused on the follies of youth, as well as passionate reactions to love and loss. But now, the band s follow-up, Towns, sees them stripping that sonic and lyrical method down to the barest elements. The sound is refined, yet gritty, while maintaining a sparse, but textured, space throughout. Their expanded lineup now includes drummer/percussionist John Masters, whose contributions add to the organic presence in the musics dialogue between man and machine. At times, Towns approaches a dark, broken, Southern Gothic aesthetic, but without explicitly pursuing that specific sound. This is reflected more in the moods and lyrical content, albeit in a non-traditional form. This new sound is comprised of beat-up, vintage reedy wind instruments, keys, guitars, and vocals, all recorded and played through futuristic tools. The record time-travels through inhabited spaces both actual and imagined exploring an emotional relationship between the metropolis and the more private realms of rural expanses in a unique fashion. Hailing from Washington D.C., Stamen & Pistils have built a sound atypical of what is commonly expected from this city. Acoustic based folk-pop, filled out with programmed beats and synths form a sort of controlled chaos. Influenced as much by the future as by anachronism, Stamen & Pistils aim to create something new and sincerely their own: a highly textured sonic pallet of fuzzy deconstructed pop. Including members of Metropolitan, Person, and Radel Esca, the band has shared the stage with such notable acts as The Dirty Projectors, Beach House, Telepathe, Asobi Seksu, The Blow, Dear Nora, and more.