Gregory Robson
01/27/10, 07:04 AM
Blind Pilot -iTunes Session EP
Record Label: Expunged Records
Release Date: Dec., 29, 2009
The music world was thrown for a loop in 2008 when Oregon natives Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dubowski hit the Pacific Coast with just their instruments and bicycles. Opting to save costs, the duo, who go by the name Blind Pilot, traveled from venue to venue with just their two feet and their bikes. Touring in support of their debut album 3 Rounds and a Sound , the novel approach brought the band hordes of attention and positive acclaim. It didn't hurt that 3 Rounds and a Sound was also a mellow collection of alt. country that fused rustic instrumentation with sugar-sweet harmonies. The acclaim led to the band opening for the likes of Gomez, The Decemberists, The Hold Steady and Counting Crows. Their single "Go On Say It," even netted two million downloads on iTunes. A band that began their career riding their bikes went on to sell out headlining dates at venues such as Chicago's Schuba's and New York City's Mercury Lounge.
This iTunes only live EP recorded last month was produced and mixed by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, REM) and represented the group's first studio venture with the band's newly expanded sextet arrangement. Opening with Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio," Blind Pilot lets the new musicians' impact be felt from the very first seconds. Three-part acapella vocal harmonies and Nebeker's country croon make for a perfect complement to Welch's original. When Ian Krist's vibraphone kicks in halfway through the song reveals itself to be an absolute treasure. Second track "The Story I Heard," follows and is accented by Kati Claborn's banjo, a rousing acoustic guitar and Nebeker's spot-on vocals. Dave Jorgensen's trumpet towards the end gives the song a breathability and a zest that was never felt this deeply on 3 Rounds and a Sound.
That very sentiment is repeated on the Ryan Adams-esque "One Red Thread," and again on the chill-inducing "3 Rounds and a Sound." Easily the album's best moment, it's an arrangement and a performance that can quite easily define the band's career. Let it be known that musicians might spend 20 years trying to execute a song this poetically. With intimate vocals, tender guitarwork and gauzy textures, "3 Rounds and a Sound," is a crowning achievement and proof positive that the newly expanded lineup might just be the catalyst to spring this band into the stratosphere. Equal parts poignant, passionate and timeless, the song is buttressed by a lilting trumpet near the end.
The EP ends with the sweetly rousing "Get it Out," the effort's only new song and a harbinger of the advancement of the band's craft since the release of their debut. In the end, there's no way of denying the potency in these five songs. This is flawless musicianship aided by sterling production and stunning vocal clarity. In under 30 minutes Blind Pilot has presented an amalgamation of sturdy roots-folk that is wistful, reflective and exhilirating. Neberker's ruminative musings on the human psyche are buoyed by feathery melodies and his dulcet vocals. If this is just the beginning, the anticipation for where this ends up is maddening.
Ian Krist: vibraphone
Kati Claborn: dulcimer, banjo, vocals
Dave Jorgensen: Rhodes piano, harmonium, trumpet
Luke Ydstie: upright bass, vocals
Israel Nebeker: vocals, guitar
Ryan Dubowski: drums
1. Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch)
2. The Story I Heard
3. One Red Thread
4. 3 Rounds and a Sound
5. Get It Out
Whiskeytown, The Gourds, The New Frontiers, Good Old War
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/blindpilot)
Website (http://www.blindpilot.com)
Record Label: Expunged Records
Release Date: Dec., 29, 2009
The music world was thrown for a loop in 2008 when Oregon natives Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dubowski hit the Pacific Coast with just their instruments and bicycles. Opting to save costs, the duo, who go by the name Blind Pilot, traveled from venue to venue with just their two feet and their bikes. Touring in support of their debut album 3 Rounds and a Sound , the novel approach brought the band hordes of attention and positive acclaim. It didn't hurt that 3 Rounds and a Sound was also a mellow collection of alt. country that fused rustic instrumentation with sugar-sweet harmonies. The acclaim led to the band opening for the likes of Gomez, The Decemberists, The Hold Steady and Counting Crows. Their single "Go On Say It," even netted two million downloads on iTunes. A band that began their career riding their bikes went on to sell out headlining dates at venues such as Chicago's Schuba's and New York City's Mercury Lounge.
This iTunes only live EP recorded last month was produced and mixed by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, REM) and represented the group's first studio venture with the band's newly expanded sextet arrangement. Opening with Gillian Welch's "Look at Miss Ohio," Blind Pilot lets the new musicians' impact be felt from the very first seconds. Three-part acapella vocal harmonies and Nebeker's country croon make for a perfect complement to Welch's original. When Ian Krist's vibraphone kicks in halfway through the song reveals itself to be an absolute treasure. Second track "The Story I Heard," follows and is accented by Kati Claborn's banjo, a rousing acoustic guitar and Nebeker's spot-on vocals. Dave Jorgensen's trumpet towards the end gives the song a breathability and a zest that was never felt this deeply on 3 Rounds and a Sound.
That very sentiment is repeated on the Ryan Adams-esque "One Red Thread," and again on the chill-inducing "3 Rounds and a Sound." Easily the album's best moment, it's an arrangement and a performance that can quite easily define the band's career. Let it be known that musicians might spend 20 years trying to execute a song this poetically. With intimate vocals, tender guitarwork and gauzy textures, "3 Rounds and a Sound," is a crowning achievement and proof positive that the newly expanded lineup might just be the catalyst to spring this band into the stratosphere. Equal parts poignant, passionate and timeless, the song is buttressed by a lilting trumpet near the end.
The EP ends with the sweetly rousing "Get it Out," the effort's only new song and a harbinger of the advancement of the band's craft since the release of their debut. In the end, there's no way of denying the potency in these five songs. This is flawless musicianship aided by sterling production and stunning vocal clarity. In under 30 minutes Blind Pilot has presented an amalgamation of sturdy roots-folk that is wistful, reflective and exhilirating. Neberker's ruminative musings on the human psyche are buoyed by feathery melodies and his dulcet vocals. If this is just the beginning, the anticipation for where this ends up is maddening.
Ian Krist: vibraphone
Kati Claborn: dulcimer, banjo, vocals
Dave Jorgensen: Rhodes piano, harmonium, trumpet
Luke Ydstie: upright bass, vocals
Israel Nebeker: vocals, guitar
Ryan Dubowski: drums
1. Look at Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch)
2. The Story I Heard
3. One Red Thread
4. 3 Rounds and a Sound
5. Get It Out
Whiskeytown, The Gourds, The New Frontiers, Good Old War
Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/blindpilot)
Website (http://www.blindpilot.com)