Album Details

• Artist: Barn Owl
• EP:
Shadowland
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-06-10

A teaser 12" to keep you going until the full-length "Lost in the Glare" drops in September, "Shadowland" features three  brooding and increasingly powerful tracks perfect for putting you in a trance or making you feel like exploring this "life" thing with a little more intensity. Barn Owl may have their heads in the clouds, but they find things there we all can use.

"Void and Devotion" is a typical slow drone build-up to majestic, loud resolution, but in the right hands that structure never gets old, and here it is inspired. The title track is a little sluggish in comparison, its minimal drone not quite as effective following such a heavy track. The closer, a roughly ten minute "Infinite Reach,"  also features minimal drone, but the effect is quite different; here, there is a moving, deep, Tangerine Dream feel to the drone, and it expands and propels itself with a dignity that is hard to fake. It never ceases to amaze me that Barn Owl's primary voice is the guitar; sometimes it is hard to find in the mix, but it is always there, and always at the heart of even the most abstract sound.

Jon Porras and Evan Caminiti explore with a big openness, using subtle and minimal space and sounds to free up that larger environment. There are only three songs to chew on here, but "Shadowland" offers plenty of moments for drifting in rarified air while chewing.

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