I have been wanting to write up this album for a little while, and unfortunately my timing is not that great, as this is a distinctly winter album in the vein of Bon Iver’s For Emma… and as we are now heating up into the sweaty throes of summer it may not match up with the current season. That being said though, this album is weighty, chill, succint and very well done. There are a lot of similarities here to what Bon Iver has already done and also what bands like The Middle East are doing right now. This is a hushed, chilled pop-folk vibe on this record, a little less remote and isolated than Bon Iver was, and there are some great hooks and songs in here amongst much wintry desolation. As far as creating that hushed reverence and wintry tone, these guys have done a great job and their strength in songwriting in production bring it full circle to give us a very good album.

The album kicks off with a solo, somber piano/background vocal intro that sets a haunting tone. “Fragile Meadow” kicks off with a solo acoustic guitar and some intimate vocals, creating the great weight and feel in this record that really carries through the whole way. “Heirloom” has a great Bon Iver meets Sigur Ros kind of feel to it, very subdued instruments and a slow, dramatic build in the song, very well done. “An Ocean and Peril” has a great hushed roar to it, and combines a haunting background vocal/noise with a very simple and powerful song structure. “Walked-On Wood” may be the centerpiece of the album, so strained and epic and simplistic and dramatic all at once, it very much evokes cold winter nights but also with a lot of feeling and yearning. “Dandelion” provides a bit of levity and is very well done. The title track is simple and bittersweet echoing the album as a whole. “I Shall Cross This River” echoes Bon Iver heavily and has a more hopeful tone to send the album out on a higher note.

This album is very hushed and subdued and features a lot of lonely, strained acoustic instruments and haunting melodies and vocals. It shares much in common with Bon Iver, but also features many building, dramatic moments within the songs that seek to create a more epic atmosphere for some songs on the album. The band does a great job of putting together very nice, wintry songs. Granted it is summertime now, but these jams would fit in perfectly in about 4-5 months time from now when it starts to get a little chill in the air. And that’s really what you can feel on the album here, there is a lot of heart and feeling and in the back behind almost everything there is that little chill in the air.

The Black Atlantic – Heirloom – From Reverence for Fallen Trees (MP3, iTunes)
The Black Atlantic – Walked-On Wood – From Reverence for Fallen Trees (MP3, iTunes)