I’m thankful for Jakob Olausson. While much of today’s new music strives to break Earth’s gravitational tether, contentedly drifting through space, Olausson reminds us that there’s plenty of reverb and fog right here on Earth. Sure a title like “Morning and Sunrise” invokes our star, but unlike other notable dawns in music history, I imagine Olausson’s sunrise as one viewed from ground level, a light coming up over a barren hill; Olausson’s cheek pressed against the earth, rather than against the porthole window of a Challenger or Souvlaki.
Throughout the song, the meandering guitar never really picks up any pattern or structure, but the wavering vocals keep us on track with moaned repetition. It’s like traveling with no idea what road you’re on, but strong reason to believe you’re pointed North. Not quite a proper song, this track is from the realm of audiophiles or somnambulists. All this said, his voice and git-box have got a nice sound, and when it comes to music, good sounds are really the best place to start.
Morning and Sunrise LP comes out December 6 on De Stijl Records.
• Jakob Olausson: http://www.myspace.com/jakobolausson
• De Stijl Records: http://destijlrecs.com/055.html
