Lacewing
Self-Released, 2021
9/10
A Boise quartet who put an interesting and unique spin on indie-rock, Jenn Sutkowski, Brent Heiner, Stephen Samuelson, and Hyrum Haeberle manipulate mood and melody while welcoming Rhodes and crystal flute into their often haunting vision as Trippy Hearts.
“Flaming Gold Piano” starts the adventurous album off with dense keys, precise percussion and Sutkowski’s pretty pipes guiding an initially psychedelic landscape that builds into a very busy display of power and melody that resemble alt-rock, and “Samskara” follows with spirited guitar and a light climate that borders on post-rock amid plenty of warm indie-rock sensibilities.
At the halfway point, “Unknown”, which was inspired by Anthony Bourdain, comes with a mysterious ambience that’s poetic and embraces gritty guitars alongside a hazy quality, while “Everywhere” gets soft and dreamy, as an almost sci-fi appeal enters the playful landscape of beauty.
The final two tracks, “Garden City” and “Beach Steed”, are on par with the greatness of the rest of the album, where the former is a reflective and angular display of precisely layered mood and texture, and the latter exits the listen initially bare, before spacey sounds, more emphasis on drumming and a curious tension builds into a fascinating finish.
An aptly titled outfit, the psychedelic nods present are certainly appreciated and the heartfelt songwriting is equally impressive across 8 really fantastic tracks. Keep an ear this way, cause Trippy Hearts are onto something really great.
Travels well with: Because Villains- Yes; The Pink Dust- Dark Seas