Mud Pie Sun/Wooden Circle

Recorded on the ‘trusty Porta Two 4-track,’ Philly’s Mud Pie Sun drop their first full-length in 20 years. A duo of Steven Pitcherella and Tom Quinn, Wooden Circle is primarily a hazy acoustic outing with an intimate smoke layered on top of their back-porch psych and folk pop. Being that they sprouted in the 90s, Wooden Circle certainly has a lo-fi vibe associated with that way-back time and space machine destination. There’s that rustic, sort of ethereal West Cost aura that probably doesn’t exist in real life, but gets conjured up when needed. With such strong roots in a particular time and way of thinking, Wooden Circle isn’t a relic by any means. The circle has just come around in a timely fashion for a change. Insidious in its surface laziness, Wooden Circle  works under your skin revealing more than what’s there on the surface. Or maybe not; not slight, but not jam-packed with instrumentation either, Pitcherella and Quinn stoke their atmosphere only with what they need to have it carry, and lift, Wooden Circle. Similarly, it touches down in more places than might be readily apparent. They take on Gene Clark’s You Say You Lost Your Baby with some tasteful guitar squall that binds it in with their own songs. The outstanding The Captain is a short instrumental, that tosses in some off-kilter melodica and rumbling bass that rolls right into the equally sweet He Told Me You Could See Your Soul in the Sunrise on the Coast of California. A hushed stream of vocals and guitar buzz stretch out over 7 minutes, never getting tiresome or diluting the appeal of the song’s mild chug. The Other Side has a hopped up punchy psych exuberance, while Three More Days shows them just as adept with the melancholy side of things. If you need a breather from the boom of Summer, or a place to stop for a moment that doesn’t stop moving, Mud Pie Sun might have a slice for you.

Worrisummer :: Mud Pie Sun :: Wooden Circle (2012, Revolving Bell)

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