Thursday, January 17, 2008

Release of the Month: January 2007 - The Harpeth Trace On Disappearing





Following the eloquent and exceptional debut EP "Man and the Cousin", The Harpeth Trace has released a gem of haunting folk and psychedelia. In my mind's eye, I imagine the band rolling into a cramped studio around 3 am to start recording sessions in the quiet cloak of night. In fact, the word nocturnal comes to mind when swimming through their slowbeat haze of guitar, drums and bass. On Disappearing is the perfect title for the meditative, blues-tinged quality of Harpeth Trace's first full length cd ... one can almost fade into the shadows and silences in these songs. Not that The Harpeth Trace can't rock out ... as they do on "The Numbers in Your Hair".
All of their song titles are impressionistic, with hints of the Clientele's wordsmithing --- but The Harpeth Trace is uniquely it's own band, defying reference points. With On Disappearing they have created a masterpiece that flows and works its magic from track to track --- the way an album was meant to be listened to.