The Escape Artist: Constellations

The Escape Artist is a post-rock/shoegaze band from Washington, D.C. The stars, the skies, the vast spaces between mind and body. These are the images evoked in my mind from the first few minutes of this album. This album is complicated, with multiple guitar layers that swing and dance across the soundscapes. Every track has its own canvas, brushed by The Escape Artist with soothing, intimate melodies. It feels like personal music, with the steady pulsing drumming. The bass and drums lay back for the two lead guitars to direct the sound. That’s something that takes a lot of skill, building a foundation of that DC spaceship. This is very trance, shoegazing post rock. It glazes over the mind like morphine, with its blissful, late night sound. It reminds me of being young on a dark night, looking up at the sky and seeing the infinite vastness of space. That first moment when it becomes clear that the universe is so much greater than humankind could ever be. The realization that not everything is concrete, or can be explained. Awestruck before the majesty of the infinite. That’s the feeling Constellations bring out in me. Beauty and wonder, fear that if you look too long into the stars you will float to them. The Escape Artist is like no other band I’ve ever heard before in the way they build their songs. Wanda Perkins leads the vocals with grace and a subdued elegance, adding more depth and beauty to every song on Constellations. The vocal harmonies over the guitar harmonies give a deep resonance to the walls of sound.

I often got lost in the sounds and songs I meant to pay much closer attention to. It’s just a natural reaction, the songs carry the mind of the listener with them out into space. It’s a classic sound in that way, with elements of sixties psychedelic and more modern post rock bands. The Escape Artist is a staple of the DC scene, and it’s easy to see why. Check out Constellations below, or go see them perform in DC soon! They put on an excellent live show.

Listen here: http://theescapeartistdc.bandcamp.com/

Weston Smith: The Window

Weston Smith is a synth pop lo-fi soundscape act from Nothern Virginia. Mellow, spacey, vibrant and calm. Weston Smith has a definite indie synth production sound, which I have always enjoyed. I like music when it is pure emotion. I enjoy it so much when a creator can perfectly capture their emotion and experience into song. Self made albums and songs have such clear personality and the grace and creativity of the individual.

Weston Smith has a lot of different kinds of sounds bouncing around and overlapping, the different instruments come and go, interspersed evenly to create a powerful sound without ever getting too loud or ever being out of place. I’m reminded the most of Washed Out, another great band in the same style. I’m not a huge expert on this genre of music, but I know that every time I hear the synth intro of The Window I can’t help but feel relaxed, calm and introspective. There’s just something about Weston Smith that will stay with you long after the song has ended. There will be a full album release soon, but until then you can check out The Window here:

https://westonsmithmusic.bandcamp.com/track/the-window-single