Orienteers - Orienteers
Posted by Kuang on Thu, 10 Nov 2011.
Orienteers eponymous album, complete with its hand made case, is utterly gorgeous from start to finish. The band feed out delicate and fragile county-folk tones delivered with a calmness that's nearly spiritual. Despite the gentle landscape, the depth and richness of the sound calls to mind Pink Floyd's more 'out there' moments - imagine if the Future Sound of London had a purely acoustic and infinitely more mellow counterpart...
Each track has a very clear identity, but not one that'll be revealed on first listen - you have to allow them to sink in, and let the individual elements of each take root in their own good time. 'Walking Song' is an achingly beautiful, wishful story of the road; oriting somewhere between Midlake, Sparklehorse and Explosions in the Sky. 'A Hymn for the Old Salt' sounds like a whispered prayer drifting on a wave of chimes and featherweight strings. The instrumental 'Man Turns to Sunshine' surprises with a soft muted horn that slowly gives way to the lightest of keys, calling on every ounce of your attention to be revealed.
All too soon it's over, and the world feels a calmer place. This isn't a challenging album, nor one that will ever demand anything of you; see it as a lullaby and allow it to wash over you and you'll feel far better for it. Follow the link and listen for yourself...