By: Daniela Patrizi
This Patch Of Sky | website | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on August 24, 2014 via Bandcamp
Less than one year after the release of Heroes and Ghosts I again find myself writing about This Patch Of Sky. In case you don’t know who they are, This Patch Of Sky (TPOS) hail from Eugene, Oregon, and create a splendid mix of quiet, loud, and expansive music that is rarely heard anymore. They are a post-rock band striving to make music that reaches the listener’s emotional core and with their new S/T album, they have far exceeded those expectations. I’m a fan of this 6-piece outfit since their debut The Immortal, The Invisible that is still one of my favorite albums from them. Heroes and Ghosts is their first fully instrumental album making them one of those bands that write music with no words that leaves the listeners free to write the story of each song. This is the case of the new album too that shines for its evocative power and ability to suits every mood. This Patch Of Sky is more than a collection of eight songs: it’s an experience that will let you explore the most beautiful sonic landscapes.
I’ve been listening this album several time in the last week before starting writing about it and it managed to keep on inspiring me.
The openers, ‘Preude’ and ‘Time Destroys Everything, But Our Foundation Remains’, unfold like a flower slowly unfurling itself to dawn warmth. It draws you in with eerie sounds that fly past you with stealthy intent, morphing into a soft melody that strike at your heart with a plaintive air. As you move through this forest of sound webbing your senses, a far distant call of monks twists and turns you until the end of the tracks.
Crafted cinematic soundscapes are at the center of the production, setting up the mood and feelings to become the soundtrack to your daily life. The sound of TPOS falls between lush post-rock, organic ambient and ethereal cinematic soundscapes. ‘Love Is In Beauty and Chaos’ is an example of what I’m saying and it has the same effect of a cozy blanket that keep us warm throughout a cold winter day.
‘The Winter Day Declining’ is where the band achieves the top with its soft build up and serene calmness. Through this song TPOS paints a soundscape of pillow-soft meadows, deep ocean breathing, and boundless time. It’s really good.
The last part of the album follows the same path of the previous tracks. So ‘Standing On The Shoulders of Giants (The Battle Of Frieders)’, ‘And So They Watched As The Years Passed Us By’ starts softly and have an incredible build up. There’s movement in this album, even if it doesn’t seem (or sound) like it. The three minutes of ‘Wait and Hope’ are the best way to close an album that has its moments and is really enjoyable.
This Patch Of Sky is between post rock and ambient but there is a progression in all the music here, but it is so subtle, so quiet and un-intrusive that the listener would have to pay very careful attention to everything that is happening. And it’s definitely an emotional work, one that seems to be sad, melancholic and optimistic and joyful at the same time, and because of this, its about fifty minutes pass without a single dull moment.
