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Eternal Tapestry

Wild Strawberries

Written by: BV on 10/04/2015 23:02:00

When stumbling upon a name like Eternal Tapestry, you sort of instantly get an idea of what kind of music the band creates – and it’s not exactly an easily accessible idea. Having been around for quite a while, I’m fairly astonished by the fact that they have eluded me for so long, considering the music is seemingly right up my alley. As I understand it, Eternal Tapestry opted for a different approach when recording “Wild Strawberries”, their latest effort, as they headed out to a remote cabin in Oregon to isolate themselves while recording, where they produced a set of tracks all named after plants native to the area. This makes sense, considering the song-titles would otherwise just be weirdly botanical – it is, however, also one of the last things about the album to make complete sense from this point forward.

Opening with “Mountain Primrose”, an ambient collage of sound, it is quite apparent that isolating themselves in a cabin might not have been the smartest idea around. Initially coming off as unfocused and far too lingering, “Mountain Primrose” still has something to it. An idea, perhaps, that could have been developed further with a sharper focus. Judging from recent interviews, the band explains how their time in this particular cabin has apparently caused them to let down their guards and encouraged them to pursue whatever ideas came to mind in an entirely unfocused manner. A double-edged sword if I ever saw one, I might add.

Because sure, on tracks like “Enchanter’s Nightshade” with its sprawling tremolo guitar and lazy drumbeats there is a certain vibe I just can’t help but get into. It’s endearing, it’s kaleidoscopic and most important of all – it never seems pointless. It borders on sounding like a mix between Acid Mothers Temple, Kikagaku Moyo and even a little bit of Spacemen 3. The slowly unfolding cascades of sound is a tendency the band brings into the eerie album highlight “Maidenhair Spleenwort” which with its chilling ambience is oddly reminiscent of a scarier version of Pink Floyd’s “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” as it conveys much of the same ominous, chilling vibe that just lingers on long after the final notes of the track have receded.

In spite of chilling high points like this, there are also far too many unfocused desert wanderings of musical ideas throughout the nearly 90 minute long album. Judging from my recent backtracking through their discography, Eternal Tapestry are indeed developing – but hopefully “Wild Strawberries” is merely a stop along the way towards their final, hopefully amazing musical destination. The potential sure seems to be there.

Download: Wild Strawberries, Enchanter’s Nightshade, Maidenhair Spleenwort
For The Fans Of: Acid Mothers Temple, Kikagaku Moyo, Øresund Space Collective
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 24.02.2015
Thrill Jockey Records