Red Sails (Exclusive Part Two!)
A few months ago, the Hippodrome ran our first exclusive feature on Red Sails, posting two songs heretofore unavailable anywhere else. Ben speculated that “maybe if he played his cards right each release will be up on The Hippodrome.” Well, we’re two for two so far, as the Brooklyn four-piece has offered us their latest singles, Tides/Ten Days of Sunlight.
Red Sails’ first release with their current lineup, River Gods/Weathervane, channelled a spacier and less schizophrenic Man Man, or, as Ben put it, “a three headed version of Tom Waits” (whatever that means). While it’s pretty pointless to look for a career trajectory over the course of a pair of two-song releases, it’s hard to ignore the sense of growth and development in these nine minutes and three seconds of music.
“Tides” exhibits the band’s extroverted side, plodding along with tight, angular drumwork washed over with shimmering guitars. With all the crescendos and time-signature changes, they would almost sound like a different band if not for the anchor of Tom Tierney’s howling vocals, which somehow sound both breathless and restrained.
However, they really hit their stride on “Ten Days of Sunlight,” which shows the band turning inward with a beautifully sparse acoustic number that delves fully into the New Weird America they flirted with on River Gods/Weathervane. A sun-kissed melody and unassumingly psychedelic lyrics (”I can smell the colors / bursting with melodies we learned from the leaves”) rest over a gentle acoustic strum and a bed of ambient electronic textures. This song could be the perfect soundtrack to an afternoon in the park with a loved one and a bag of mushrooms.
Red Sails’ next single, Smithereens/Hair and Teeth, is currently in the oven, and if current trends continue, it will probably be released within the next few months. If they keep sending ‘em, we’ll keep posting ‘em.
Audio: Tides
Audio: Ten Days of Sunlight
May 1st, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Attaboys!