By Christopher DeMarucs (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 13, 2013
Having done many music reviews over the years, I get distressed by an album with credits that repeat the same name over and over. It’s often a sign that the record is a self-produced vanity project of low quality.
In the case of Thru Colorado’s Ephemera, the record is recorded, written, and performed by the same person: Wade Findlay. There are some additional production credits, including Ben Klassen and Conan Karpinski, but the production is minimal – as with most bands coming out in the new norm of technologically motivated do-it-yourself music. More and more, indie albums are self-produced and done at home on a shoestring budget. Sometimes the result is artistic freedom, sometimes the result is a sticky mess.
Thankfully, Ephemera delivers. The first track, “Old Life” gives off an immediate vibe lying somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Radiohead. The vocals are covered in a blanket of reverb, not spilling over with too much effect. It’s catchy in a relaxing atmosphere, thick with smoke and steam.
But things take a tighter turn on “Break the Lines,” which is a little more melodic and driven in one specific direction. Findlay’s vocal performance is strong in a perfect pitch.
“Reeling” is the best track of the record. Findlay mixes breakbeat with ethereal layers of voice and echoing effects. Not moving quite into trip-hop, the track remains on the spacier side with clean guitar lines and smooth bouncing delay. The song tumbles down like an ocean wave to the end, barrelling with the sound of marbles on a London subway train. It rolls, it tips, and it zips under the city with a twisted, unknown speed.
The slamming funk beats in “Do You Feel” are joined up with a dirty bass and familiar kind of melody. Here lies the album single with clear musical hooks and a big ol’ dirty chorus groove. This track, placed perfectly in the middle, gives a heavy walk right through to “Follow On” where finger-slipping acoustic guitar plays against a choppy drum loop.
“Unknown” is a close second to “Reeling.” Slow funk beats get wrapped up in a driving melodic guitar loop. Like a stripped-down version of The Cure, this track ends with a crescendo of vocal howls and echoey audio loops.
Overall, the record is impressive for a self-release. Thru Colorado is a solo project with much better quality songwriting and production than its contemporaries. There is a spacey, drifting atmosphere throughout. The album sends out a clearly west coast kind of vibe; written and performed by an artist who has lived close to the sea and cedar.
While this record is technically good—perfect pitch, timing, and songwriting—Thru Colorado would benefit from adding more musical voices to the mix. A full band would blow wind into Thru Colorado’s sails, sending the project father and faster out to sea. The mix of each song is perfect on Ephemera. But it lacks depth and character that more members could provide.
You can listen to Ephemera on Thru Colorado’s Bandcamp site, or buy the record under pay-as-you-want rules. If you’re a fan of bands like Portishead, records like In Rainbows, or voices like Robert Smith’s, this record is for you.
