Regular readers will know that these past few months we've been following San Franciscan garage-rock band Windham Flat's series of 'Basement Sessions', which are video documents of songs being recorded live in their rehearsal space, the intriguingly bedecked basement beneath a local laundromat. The latest instalment (part four) is now with us and is titled 'Sunshine Machine'. If you're expecting more of the raw and punky riffing of other tracks in the series so far then you could be in for a bit of a surprise with this one, as it brings with it a whole different vibe and shows off a different side to the band. This is the first of this set composed by Ben Pearce, one of three guitarists and vocalists that make up their numbers. We're not sure but perhaps one or two other bands from that area are annoyed at them hogging all the frontmen.
Kicking in with some waves of guitar distortion that bring Windham Flat closer to shoegaze/dreampop territory, the vocals follow a similar distorted and cloudy path. Maybe the guys have been digging out some old Galaxie 500 or Slowdive albums. This is fuzz-heavy dreampop with a difference though, in fact the term dreamrock might be more appropriate. As the song drifts on from the blurred beginning, backed by nothing more than some high-hat work, the drums gradually bring themselves forward, as do less hazy guitars. Following a whistled break, the noise begins to crunch and become grittier, verging on grunge, until the blend of electric sounds and gently crashing drums break into a partial drone for the track's climax. Given what we'd heard so far, Windham Flat have thrown us a bit of a curveball here, but it's a damn good one, and great to see them testing different waters.
To download 'Sunshine Machine' for free head here
Windham Flat's website
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I think I just lost my mind. In the good way.
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