Amish is pleased to officially announce a new release from Humboldt County's finest contemporary experimental unit, Starving Weirdos. A couple of years in the making, Land Lines documents a vital step in the evolution and refinement of Starving Weirdos' freeform improvisational practices, as well as its infamous and highly disciplined studio practices. Land Lines chronicles Starving Weirdos' most focused and structured release to date, with pieces that import a distinctly European flavor into the sound of what, until now, has been a uniquely Northern Californian form of sonic experimentation.
"An epic set of fetid fourth world drone and eerie symphonic psych from Brian Pyle (aka Ensemble Economique) and Merrick McKinlay, following hot on the heels of last year's "Rolled In The Midst Of Never-Ceasing Currents". Two years in the making, with its origins in freeform sessions recorded around the time of 2010's On Land festival in San Francisco, 'Land Lines' is a huge step forward for the duo, who call up on a number of guest players - among them Steve Lazar and Monica Shavez - and use slouchy, MIddle Eastern-style drum patterns to anchor some dizzying, improvised climbs into the astral jazz firmament. 'Periods' sails close to the sound of Pyle's most recent Ensemble Economique album, but the arrangement here - all sighing vocals, colour-bled synth arpeggios and dark reveberations - has a depth and a balance that has clearly been achieved only through great thought and toil. 'Captured' teams slo-mo Shackleton percussion with distant, Morricone-esque choral layers and narcotically-compromised reeds, while stunning opener 'In Our Way' and 'A Change In The Lexicon' benefit from the vocal incantations of Aimee Hennessey, the latter track coming over like a leaner, meaner Dead Can Dance. Off the freakin' chain, this record, and strongly recommended." Boomkat