Premiere: Foxtrails, ‘Barnyard’

Kevin Bronson on January 22nd, 2018

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Foxtrails are a new L.A. quintet who weave a strong sense of geography and nature into the textures of their ambient music. What began as a group of songs written by Blake McLeod evolved — with the help of Venice housemates Dane Sandborg, Micah Sohl, Michael Brenner and Cory Yamashiro — into gently psychedelic excursions incorporating field recordings and the hum, whir and twinkle of analog and digital instrumentation. “Barnyard” offers an homage to McLeod’s grandmother, whose farm the songwriter visited in his youth. After her passing, he put poetry to her memory in the form of song. “North End” has its roots in a trip the band took when they were just getting started; while visiting Vashon Island, they collected samples using a boom mic and headphones out in nature, attempting to capture the energy and essence of the island and using that to build a song. It’s vivid and detailed, unfolding like time-lapse photography, and ultimately relaxing. Eyes closed, now.

||| Stream: “Barnyard”