The World on Higher Downs - "Land Patterns"

The World on Higher Downs - Alpine Low (Plop 2007)

The World on Higher Downs – Land Patterns / Plop

So after somewhat ranting and raving about yet another product of the experimental and pastoral Chicago post-rock scene yesterday, a Wisconsin quartet one-ups my Windy City example. Granted this is a rarity in the Cheese State (that’s their official nickname right?), The World on Higher Downs would be much more suited in the scene just to the south, but if their debut album proves anything, it’s that they are very much self-sufficient. Hell, they even landed themselves on the wonderful Tokyo label Plop; I for one am impressed.

Made up of four multi-instrumentalists including Troy Schafer, Nathaniel Ritter, Vincent Wachowiak and Eric Bray, The World on Higher Downs craft their sound through patient layering rather than off-the-cuff improvisation. The project that resulted in Land Patterns began in the spring of 2005 by Schafer and Ritter. Initially instigated by innocent bedroom experimentation, the preliminary sketches were just made up of keyboards, effected electric guitar and violin, but strong enough to warrant elaborating on the songs. While I don’t have any indication of what exactly the early demos sounded like, stripping away the auxiliary instrumentation from the final recordings reveal a backdrop of slow-burning synth swells and swirling, staticy ambience; probably in the vein of a rough-hewn Stars of the Lid or Labradford sound.

After a few months of smoothing out the blueprints, Wachowiak and Bray were brought into the mix to further develop the music. Fleshed out with acoustic instrumentation like guitar, bass, xylophone, vibraphone, horns and a variety of hand, pitched and bowed percussion as well as electronic touches, Land Patterns began to truly take shape. Instead of digitally chopping up samples and piecing the album together, the group opted to arrange in large chunks by layering and blending the warm pitches together. There is a definite digital sound to the album, especially with the subtle static undertones and heavy effects lining the entire recording, but the warmness of natural instrumentation and analog recording is not completely lost in the mix. It is more acoustic than a Fennesz recording and more electronic than a Reich.

And speaking of influences, the biggest concern with Land Patterns is how much it imitates (though very well) its influences without completely carving out its own idiosyncratic style. During my initial few spins, I jotted down as I always do a few musical references to help describe the sound while writing my review. My list included Steve Reich (elliptical vibe and xylophone patterns), Labradford (effects-heavy, ambient soundscapes), Stars of the Lid (lush string swells and slowly developing arrangements) and Fridge (inventive rhythms and lyrical melodies), and low-and-behold, their MySpace-listed influences include all four as well as a shoegazers Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, post-rockers Tortoise and Tarentel, and electronic artists Loscil and Matmos. Every one of these references are warranted and very much put The World on Higher Downs in fantastic company, but also proves that the Wisconsin quartet is a bit behind the curve.

So that is pretty much the bottom line, Land Patterns is a fantastic, well-produced album containing the best elements of the last twenty years of acoustic and electronic post-rock, but doesn’t so much push the envelope as settles in comfortably and keeps the tradition alive. Do not get me wrong though, if this is a sound you particularly enjoy, then do yourself a favor and pick up the album because you very much will not be disappointed, but just realize that it is not reinventing the game. Land Patterns is well played and produced and at the very, very least, it should bring your attention to possibly Wisconsin’s most promising post-rock collective in The World on Higher Downs. I will very much be looking forward to their sophomore effort with high expectations.