Best known as the bassist for the Breeders, Josephine Wiggs' latest solo album, We Fall, is a compelling mix of ambient electronics and sparse piano. It's something of a departure from her group work, but taken on its own merits, it's a compelling listen.
Opening track "37 Words" sets the mood with piano stabs and bursts of percussion; it's moody and atmospheric, like a landscape in the evening. On "Slipping Through the Cracks," the minimal touches of piano and strings swirl and wind around, while the title track is almost all ambience: piano and guitar notes hang in the air; formless vocals emerge from out of the ether.
Meanwhile, "In A Yellow Wood" slowly builds from sparse piano to strings and touches of electronic noise. "Loveliest of Trees" puts her guitar playing in the spotlight, slowly building the tension. On some tracks, such as "The Weeping of the Rain," she's joined by Jon Mattock on percussion., but elsewhere, like on the closing track, "Afterwards," it's all Wiggs.
Throughout, We Fall is a slow, contemplative record, perfect for those introspective, late evenings. It occasionally has some interesting post-rock vibes, especially on the guitar-driven tracks, but elsewhere the slow piano playing is closer to older ambient records. Sure, songs often build and linger, not really going anywhere. But, as they say, sometimes it's the trip itself that's the destination.
(The Sound of Sinners)Opening track "37 Words" sets the mood with piano stabs and bursts of percussion; it's moody and atmospheric, like a landscape in the evening. On "Slipping Through the Cracks," the minimal touches of piano and strings swirl and wind around, while the title track is almost all ambience: piano and guitar notes hang in the air; formless vocals emerge from out of the ether.
Meanwhile, "In A Yellow Wood" slowly builds from sparse piano to strings and touches of electronic noise. "Loveliest of Trees" puts her guitar playing in the spotlight, slowly building the tension. On some tracks, such as "The Weeping of the Rain," she's joined by Jon Mattock on percussion., but elsewhere, like on the closing track, "Afterwards," it's all Wiggs.
Throughout, We Fall is a slow, contemplative record, perfect for those introspective, late evenings. It occasionally has some interesting post-rock vibes, especially on the guitar-driven tracks, but elsewhere the slow piano playing is closer to older ambient records. Sure, songs often build and linger, not really going anywhere. But, as they say, sometimes it's the trip itself that's the destination.