As members of the seminal Galaxie 500, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang’s places in the hearts of lovers of sorrowful, blessed-out guitar music was already assured. Their heartbreaking, rhythmic undertow added a dash of sanguine ballast to Dean Wareham’s hollow melodies. When they spilt, it seemed as if Wareham’s Luna would sprint ahead to capture the prize.
It hasn’t panned out that way. Krukowski and Yang have carved out an esoteric niche within the hinterlands of both music and publishing. The duo’s publishing arm, Exact Change, reproduce avant-garde literature in beautiful, limited new editions. The time spent running Exact Change may account for the relatively small amount of new music the duo have produced in the last 17 years.
The lack of abundance is not a criticism. Music as hushed, sunlit, tangled, and ethereal as this cannot be rushed into existence. You can’t create something this graceful to meet record company schedules or touring commitments. This type of delicate, hushed intimacy is not born from grinding away in rehearsal rooms looking for the killer riff.
The songs are culled, as the title suggests, from the work the band released on Sub Pop in the mid- to late 1990s. The vocals are split between Damon and Naomi. Both vocalists would fail the auditions for American Idol, as their voices are light, airy instruments, a million miles from the histrionics that pass as singing in that arena. The vocals make perfect sense against the bruised, dreamlike backdrops the band produce.
On over half the songs on the collection, the duo are augmented by Michio Kurihara of experimental Japanese group Ghost. Kurihara adds shimmering layers of guitar that swirl across the mix in clouds of vaporized rapture. The collaboration reached its peak on the live disc Song to The Siren, where the interplay between the duo and their obtuse guitarist reached new heights. A number of the tracks are included on The Sub Pop Years.
This collection provides a wonderful summary of what makes Damon and Naomi so special. The combination of slight acoustic melodies and hazy production induces a blurry dream state. The hypnagogic blend of hushed vocals and wistful sentiment is a wonderful antidote to the full-throttle world we inhabit. Treat yourself to an oasis of calm. |