Strange Ranger – Daymoon (2017) [Bandcamp FLAC 24bit/44,1kHz]

Strange Ranger are the now two-piece indie-rock combo based in Portland, Oregon. The change from a trio to a duo definitely shows, as ‘Daymoon’ displays a more simplistic approach. As a result, the band have produced an emotionally deeper album, with the sparsity of the tracks lending itself to the sadness.

Since emerging from the Pacific Northwest early last year with their debut album, Rot Forever, the duo of Isaac Eiger and Fred Nixon have felt chameleonic in their approach. Each song sounds like something else, but whether they’re Strange Ranger or Sioux Falls, that adaptable nature has never gotten in the way of the integrity of their songwriting, which is always sharp and never apathetic. Daymoon is their sophomore album, a follow-up to last fall’s Sunbeams Through Your Head EP, and it’s as ambitious and varied as everything else they’ve put out. Most of it feels oddly alien, ambient noise and down-tuned interludes that makes it sound out-of-step, a sentiment that’s echoed in their lyrical concerns. “It’s cold lately/ I feel strangely about myself/ And everything else that grows and breathes and sits on one knee/ Keeping me calm until they’re gone,” they sing on “Everything Else,” a clattering moodpiece that’s guided along by broken keys. There are moments when they go for broke and turn in a straightforward rocker — see “Everything All At Once” and “The Future” — and those brief moments of intense clarity make the muddiness surrounding it only more compelling.

Tracklist:
01 – Glow
02 – House Show
03 – Warm
04 – Subaru
05 – Everything Else
06 – Hydration Is Key
07 – Sophie
08 – Everything all at Once
09 – Doggies
10 – Everything Is Happening
11 – The Future
12 – Seesaw
13 – Why Didn’t You
14 – Most Perfect Gold of the Century
15 – Outerlude from Daymoon

Daymoon was recorded by Strange Ranger in Gerry’s room during the winter of 2016/17.
Mixed by Garrett Linck. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering.

Musicians:
Isaac Eiger – vocals, guitars, some of the organ/keyboard
Fred Nixon – bass, some of the vocals, pump organ, casiotone mt-68 electronic musical instrument, piano, melodica, guitars on “6”
Nathan Tucker – drums
Fiona Woodman – vocals on “1, 2, 13”, casiotone mt-68 musical instrument on “15”
Dookie + Sawyer – vocals on “9”

Download:

mqs.link_StrangeRangerDaymn2017Bandcamp24441.rar

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