“The textures, colors, and scents of a soft landscape.” And gosh, Natasha Home ain’t kidding. Home’s music as Sunmoonstar blooms in the sunlight filtering through forest leaves, becoming part of the mind’s ecosystem and expelling psychic oxygen back to us to perpetuate the life cycle. Rainbow Springs is graceful and uncomplicated, appealing to all senses without prejudice: it’s equally a light source, a temperate locale, a spring day, an ocean breeze. I don’t know what it tastes like (and I am not putting the tape in my mouth), but I’m sure it’s gentle and sweet on the tongue. The fact that it extends so far beyond the auditory cortex and envelops one so cleanly and completely makes it a natural fit for Oakland’s Inner Islands, a label focused on personal well-being and internal health.
It’s not hard to lose yourself in the world of Rainbow Springs, and the 25-minute title track taking up the entirety of side B even includes birdsong to wrap it up, just in case you’ve forgotten to marvel at the beauty of the outdoor world. Is Rainbow Springs an escape for Home too, a portal out of the college town environment of Gainesville, Florida, and into the fantasy world behind her eyelids? Or is she simply finding inspiration wherever it appears? Can this heavenly balm erase the tension of modern life? Possibly, probably, and definitely: its aesthetic mirrors that of Home’s label Elestial Sound, the “celestial” quality of the music losing its “c” and descending to Earth with the full intent of healing. And heal it does, curing the weary or troubled mind.
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