2008 - Crucialblast

Bathed In Sunlight is the breatakingly beautiful new full length from the longrunning Denver drone ensemble Encomiast, featuring five lengthy tracks of instrumental bliss from Ross Hagen and company that bring together slowly drifting drones speckled with shifting layers of angelic female vocal harmonies, lilting Loveless-esque melodies, ominous ambience floating over simple hand drum rhythms, dramatic dark pop with strummed acoustic guitars and Ross' deep crooning vocals...and more of the ghostly flute playing that has always set Encomiast apart from the rest of the drone/ambient underground. Fans of Encomiast's previous releases are going to be surprised when they hear songs like "Laughter In The Storm" , whose droning psychedelic folk is unlike anything that Ross has done before, a thoroughly entracing combination of droning electronics and brooding acoustic strum. And then there's the stunning finale "Evergreen", opening with gently acoustic guitar swimming in delay before a gorgeous female voice enters under a slight veil of distortion, like she's singing from the other end of a long distance phone call, the distortion then lifting revealing her voice in perfect clarity. A simple but perfect effect. The melody in this song is likewise simple but perfect, a melancholy hook that is gradually joined by drums and electronic drones as the song evolves, turning into a amazing piece of dreamy ambient post-rock pop. Fans of Encomiast's previous droneworks and the kind of evocative ambient rock that Temporary Residence is known for will LOVE Bathed In Sunlight, which travels the luminescent ley lines between ambient dronescapes, folk music, and post-rock.
The packaging for this release is pretty damn great, if I do say so myself, with mysterious images and artwork presented in a labor-intensive hand-sewn heavy paper sleeve designed by us at Crucial Blast (in the same style as the Havens disc), and released in a limited edition of 200 copies.

Aquarius Records

What to say about this guy that we haven’t already. A long time aQ fave, every one of his records an absolute drone bliss gem. That’s really the most difficult part of this job a lot of the time. First time out, a band’s debut, it’s easy to gush and get all poetic describing a band’s sound, even with the second record, we’re usually able to come at it from a different angle, to further describe the sound in a way that conveys what we’re hearing through words. But after that, it gets a little rough, especially with a band whose sound remains fairly consistent. On the one hand, we could just say, "it’s awesome, buy it", and that’s all folks will really need if they’re already a fan, but with every release, there are always a few more folks who are discovering a band for the first time, and their discovery is as valid as that of the folks who got the first super limited long out of print cd years back. And thankfully, most of the bands worth listening to record after record, do in fact alter their sound a bit, growing, progressing, exploring, Encomiast are no different.

Thus we have the latest from one man dronescaper Encomiast, on Crucial Bliss, the, uh, blissier sublabel of the more heavy oriented Crucial BlastŠ

From the first few notes, we’re transported to some swirling sonic nether region, where everything is slightly out of focus, blurred around the edges, lit from within, sun dappled and misted with glistening dew, warm whirling washes of sound drift weightless, voices are pulled apart into their constituent parts and allowed to float freely through the ether, swirling and realigning themselves into dreamlike melodies, in fact the overall sound of Encomiast is so very dreamlike. Fans of Kompakt’s Pop Ambient sound will probably wonder why they haven’t heard this guy on one of those comps. The sound is appropriately breathy and blissy, soothing and serene, the opening track is the perfect soundtrack for somnolent drift. The second track is another bit of low end shimmer, but introduces some Eastern sounding percussion, tablas maybe, but very minimal and spare, spread out over a creeping doom chord progression, laced with swirling steel string guitar, gorgeously moody and dramatic.

The next track too, offers up minimal percussion, and some minor key steel string guitar, which instead of sprawling into some sort of moody ambience, takes the shape of some super abstract folk, lilting vocals way down in the mix, the melody sorrowful and melancholy, there’s even some fluttering flute. The second to last track returns to more familiar Encomiast ground, a billowing dronescape of metallic shimmer, a sea of softly reverberating gongs, cymbals, and other chimes and bells, smoother out into long drawn out tones, and woven into what sounds like soft voices and whirring organs. Quite lovely.

The biggest surprise is probably the closing track, which begins with soft strummed acoustic guitar, crooned vocals, what sounds like strings in the background, until about the last two minutes, when the drums kick in, some distorted guitars swoop in, and the track is transformed into a slightly metallic soaring shoegazey coda before drifting off again in a fading cloud of processed cymbals and tribal percussion.

Gorgeously packaged like all Crucial Bliss releases, a full color two panel sleeve, the front panel folded over like an obi, revealing the full color, hand sewn sleeve inside, as well as a full color two sided insert with liner notes. And as always, EXTREMELY LIMITED.

The Rock Blogger

Encomiast . Bathed in Sunlight . 2008. 4 stars .

Try as I may, I just can’t stop posting about the obscure albums I’ve stumbled across online. Some of them are just too good to leave untouched, so here goes. Bathed in Sunlight is a beautiful ambient/post-rock album from Colorado natives Encomiast that features five blissful songs that incorporate an impressive variety of ethereal sounds and instruments.

Transient drones wash over you from the outset of "Pumpkin", as layers of synth harmonies and distant vocals glide across each other in slow, hypnotic movements. Together they create a trace-inducing atmosphere that is subtly executed yet incredibly powerful in its effect. "If the Night Commands It" introduces light percussion into the mix, as soft tabla drums patter away against the deep bass lines before a shimmering guitar sweeps across in a delicate post-rock fashion. The meditative vocals of Ross Hagen gracefully enter, providing haunting lyrical descriptions of some twilight scene. While the musicianship never deviates far from the set patterns, it still draws you into a peaceful dream-like state.

"Laughter in the Storm" is probably the album’s stongest track, as clear tabla percussion again sets the stage for gentle acoustic guitar lines and some stunning flute passages that hover at the front of the mix. Hagen’s sparse vocals return to lend a dark, foreboding touch to the otherwise warm melodies. "My Chariot Awaits?" takes a little while to get going, as it meanders in aimless ambient noise, before finally fleshing out with soothing synth drones and cinematic echoes, reminding me of lonely whale songs or strange rumblings within a subway tunnel. The closing "Evergreen" introduces ominous female vocals that careen across the light soundscape before driving drums crash in, bringing us to a final, glorious crescendo. While this epic climax is not nearly as bombastic as conventional rock fair, its contrast to the rest of the song (and most of the album) is immediately satisfying and demonstrates Encomiast’s deliberate sense of pacing and structure.

Despite its often spare and detached composition, Bathed in Sunlight feels natural and welcoming as they want to ease the listener into a trance with the care and patience of a ancient shaman. Fans of minimalist music, film scores and ambient rock like Labradford will find much to like here. While you may have trouble finding a physical copy of this, as its release is very limited, you may have a chance securing one from the band’s website. Good luck, this is surely worth the effort.