Pygmy Lush:Old Friends

8.6/10 dropps

Pygmy Lush is a band from Virginia that rose from the ashes (very much like a phoenix) of several other monumental bands, including but not limited to: pg. 99, City of Caterpillar and Malady. Their first album, Bitter River saw the members still clinging to their hardcore roots, but all the while adding a certain refreshing element by including several lush folk songs spread intermittently throughout the album. Their sophomore effort entitled Mount Hope abandoned all semblances of “punk” aesthetics and the band gave us an endearing, heartfelt, honest attempt at indie folk that stuck with listeners like a memory of a loved one. Now, in 2011, Pygmy Lush returns more hopeful than ever with their third full length Old Friends. The album is beautiful. It is calculated. It is honest. Old Friends has the band giving us their hearts by way of music.

I suppose if I were to describe Old Friends to someone who had never listened to Pygmy Lush I would tell them that it resembles the feeling you get when you have half of a bottle of whiskey to yourself and the sun is setting in the way you see in postcards and you are either solemn, sunken and broken up over something or you are content with your life and everything seems to be falling into the right place. That’s the charming thing about this record. It is so incredibly suitable for those times, and typically those are the times when you need it most. It seems silly speaking in these abstractions and “what-if” situations, but all it takes is one listen (one good listen) and it becomes easy to understand the sincerity and honesty that radiates from this collection of songs.

With Old Friends, the band has elevated their unique brand of post-rock infused indie folk to new heights, expanding their song writing capabilities and offering something new and previously unheard of on Mount Hope. Plus, the production from Kurt Ballou of Converge fame allows the band to fill the voids in their songs that would have been left empty and brimming with opportunity. These songs are sometimes slow and sometimes powerful, but they are always delivering a sense of urgency and emotion that is almost necessary when crafting brooding folk songs.

From the very beginning of opening tune “Yellow Hall” you can feel the intensity the band has managed to reach. The acoustic guitar jangling stays in the catacombs of your mind and the resonating wall of distortion that rears its heard for the chorus seems to explode and flare violently without regard. Vocalist Chris Taylor delivers his lines in an anguished and withdrawn lull that is fitting for his lyrical content, often manic-depressive but still filled with sparkling moments of hope and beauty. “Chance” finds the band giving us a subdued indie tune, not too far removed from some of Arcade Fire’s quiet and tranquil moments, especially during the chorus as Taylor croons, “We don’t have a chance to heal ourselves.”

Other standout tracks include “In A Well,” offering a more traditional folk approach with lush and layered acoustic guitars and anguished vocals that are at once cryptic and vivid as well as the upbeat “A Weird Glow,” a song that is rife with instrumentation and carried by one of the most upbeat melodies on the album. It is a testament to the band’s ability to provide a jarringly crushing track and a wonderfully hopeful tune almost immediately after. Title track “Old Friends” is another somber tune, drifting through the air like a ghost in desperate search of a long lost lover, utilizing the band’s music like Theseus utilized Ariadne’s thread to find his way through the labyrinth and defeat the Minotaur.

The album truly shines however, during the cathartic building and falling of songs like “I’ll Wait With You” and album closer “Pals.” In five minutes and thirty seconds, the band is able to construct and raise one of the most elegant and pleasant soundscapes thus far in 2011 on “I’ll Wait With You.” The song begins with gentle guitar playing and subdued vocals that trudge on and on until the drums roll in and begin lifting the song into the heavens, relinquishing all aspects of earthly worries and problems, resulting in a song that can truly and honestly be described as cathartic. “Pals” offers a similar sensation, albeit one that is more light-hearted and pleasant, leaning more towards the stylings of some post rock’s more unconventional artists. It’s a fantastic closer, and a song that beckons you to start the record once again from the beginning.

Overall, Old Friends is not only a great introduction to Pgymy Lush’s music but it is also an album that will please and reward long-time fans. It is a record that will stick with you after the first listen, but will grow in strength, meaning, and sentiment with each and every subsequent listen. It’s a perfect album for the quiet summer nights that often follow heavy drinking and empty cigarette packs as well as the restless mornings that seem to follow troubled minds and emotions.

-Wilson De Gouveia