- Pity and Envy.mp3
(Backward Masks)
- Start Swimming.mp3
(Backward Masks)
- Fear the Law.mp3
(Fools Gold)
- What They Really Do.mp3 (Fools Gold)
- Trouble.mp3 (Clemency)
- Wet Mess.mp3 (Clemency)
- Trolling
on the Lake.mp3 (A Celebratory Arm Gesture)
- Something's Going On.mp3 (A Celebratory Arm Gesture)
- Half Sick of Shadows.mp3 (Voice Brother and Sister)
- Knock Louder.mp3 (Voice Brother and Sister)
Biography
Imagine J. Mascis jamming with Galaxie 500. Envision My Morning Jacket produced by Phil Elverum. Jason Lyttle getting the Lambchop treatment. Now sit back and listen to Backward Masks, 12 sugary sweet lullabies from Athens GA's finest southern songsmiths, Summer Hymns. It's the last vestiges of sunlight as the sun fades away, it's a mint julep on a humid summer afternoon.
Fans will recognize Backward Masks as the Summer Hymns record you always thought they'd make, the one they've hinted at for many moons. It is a record that emerges as if fresh from the womb, untainted. The songs don't hide behind reverb or elaborate production-in fact, it's as if they're pure enough that they wouldn't even know to hide their real, raw beauty. Instead, subtle orchestration cradles simple, remarkable melodies so familiar and well-crafted they might be the sound at the end of the tunnel.
Paradoxically, there was nothing simple about its creation. The nearly four years, five separate recording locales, and no fewer than 15 musicians that went into this album could have made it an overwrought trainwreck-moving from studio to studio, recycling sounds and re-jiggering songs, dubbing and overdubbing, mixing and remixing, this is a work of dedication and challenge. And its quality is a testament to the talent of those involved.
Hailing from Athens, GA, Summer Hymns features the songwriting of native Georgian Zachary Gresham. Joining Gresham in his hazy dream world-and on tour everywhere upon the release of Backward Masks-are cohorts Philip Brown and Chris Riser. The band's last release was Fools Gold, an odds-and-ends collection released in February 2004, while the band's last proper full length, Clemency, was released in July of 2003. Their debut, Voice, Brother and Sister, was a stunning journey of atmosphere and hazy summertime psychedelia. A Celebratory Arm Gesture was entrenched in more focused songwriting, while Clemency was the first instance in which Summer Hymns felt like a cohesive band. Backward Masks pulls everything together-it draws on the early dabbling in psychedelic sounds, the later mastery of classic songcraft, and the unmistakable southern charm that is the band's stock in trade.
