The Great Northwest - The Widespread Reign of

The term "Magic Hour" is used in filmmaking to describe that rare time near sunset and dawn, when the sun isn't visible, but has indirectly lit everything. Colors are brilliant and shadows are soft. The band The Great Northwest live in this fleeting time. They exist in that brief period and their debut album, The Widespread Reign Of does an excellent job of capturing this space aurally.

The band (around 20 of them) hail from all over. But their hometowns don't matter much. Both their sound and production bring them back to (you guessed it), the Pacific Northwest. Mixed in the same studio that Dandy Warhols use, the album sounds a lot like them, if played back at half-speed.

That might sound like a burn, but it's not. TGN might live in that brief 'Magic Hour', they just aren't interested in rushing anything. They have a story to tell, and like an old friend, they settle back on your couch and tell it to you at their pace.

One of the first things I noticed on the album is the shear range of dynamics and sounds. I thought I'd gotten a bad copy of the album when I first played it because the opening track, "Surprise I Love You" is so quiet. Then I realized that it wasn't my copy, but instead a quiet piece that beckons you a little closer, like a friend whispering a secret. "Game" has a wonderful background sound that makes me think of rain falling outside a house, and "Be Coming" sounds like it was recorded next to a power line. There's more instrumentation on these tracks than you can shake a stick at, but rarely do the songs feel cluttered or noisy.

**Note**: I've since been informed that my tracks were out of order. "Surprise I Love You" is the last track not the first.

The Warhols presence/influence can be felt throughout this work, especially on tracks like "Know What I Mean" "Western American" and "Game". The light tinkling keyboards, the trombone, the well placed wall-of-sound guitar, and the richly layered witty vocals. And for full disclosure, I have to say, I'm a big DH fan(much of this album makes me think of the Warhols track "Sleep").

There are stumbles here to be sure. "Did It Once" the second track, is at once both too folksy and a bit too repetitive. The band also has a habit of closing out tracks with very synthetic noises that drift into the next track. For a band that feels so organic and alive, these sort of sterile transitions don't do them justice.

On the whole though, this album does exactly what it sets out to do. It provides a soundtrack to a quiet rainy day in Portland. Grab a cup of coffee, put this album on, and go watch the rain fall.

The Widespread Reign Of comes out July 29th from Kora Records

MP3: The Great Northwest - Game
The Great Northwest