ontrak_autumn_2017_new

Musicians
CENTER STAGE & UP 'N' COMING
Making Musical Moments
This Patch of Sky does it all,
without saying a word
This Patch of Sky
Album Review
In an era of singles and the shuffle button, This
Patch of Sky proves a full-length album can still take
you on a journey. On These Small Spaces, the band
rises and falls together like a single, inextricably
connected being, and the album’s nine tracks run
together, interwoven with mournful guitars, elegant
cello, atmospheric effects, tasteful percussion and
other well-placed sounds. Every bit has a purpose—
nothing seems out of place. On These Small Spaces,
This Patch of Sky proves itself worthy to sit alongside
iconic post-rock bands like Explosions in the
Sky and Sigur Ros. There is no higher compliment.
Train Tracks
| All available on Spotify
“Bella Muerte” from These Small Spaces
This juxtaposition of warm drones, lively drums and a playful cello melody adds
up to arguably the most accessible song on This Patch of Sky’s new album.
“Love is in Beauty and Chaos” from This Patch of Sky
Chiming guitars propel the crescendo in this gorgeous song, which might be This
Patch of Sky’s most movie-soundtrack-ready work yet. And that’s saying something.
“Pale Lights” from These Small Spaces
This five-minute slab of sound starts off like a huge ship leaving harbor before
evolving into a thicket of pitter-patter percussion and winsome strings.
“Ten Thousand Hours” from Heroes and Ghosts
An oldie but a goodie, this song finds This Patch of Sky in its most straightforward
rock ‘n’ roll mode, building a slow-burning song into an explosive peak.
“The Winter Day Declining” from This Patch of Sky
Gentle, bulbous keyboard tones dance around a particularly deep and dark cello
line, giving this song a disorienting feel until its triumphant denouement.
THIS PATCH OF SKY specializes not just in making music, but
also moments. Moments of playful euphoria. Of starry-eyed
wonder. Of heart-swelling solemnity.
And the Eugene six-piece does it all without uttering a word.
“It’s really easy for us to say what we want to say with our
instruments and without actually saying anything into a microphone,”
drummer TJ Martin-Lokey said. “Playing live feels almost
like a journey through the cosmos in a way, with just how
massive (the music) gets.”
The band’s new album These Small Spaces is a stirring testament
to the power of dynamics, with quiet ambient passages
and delicate string sections sitting seamlessly alongside crashing
cymbals and guitar-rock crescendos. Across nine tracks, This
Patch of Sky effortlessly builds introspective quietudes into cinematic
post-rock peaks, with the prominent inclusion of warm,
rich cello tones to keep these songs tethered to Earth.
It is, perhaps, that final quality that makes This Patch of Sky’s
music resonate so strongly with just about anyone who listens.
It feels intimate and engaging, even as it soars.
“That’s the moment for me: when we get to make people really,
really feel something powerful,” Martin-Lokey said. “That’s
what this band is all about.”
Scan to listen
on Spotify
This Patch of Sky’s latest
album, These Small Spaces.