ORCHID EATON "WHERE ALL ENDS MEET" REVIEW
Album art for “Where All Ends Meet” by Orchid Eaton
I boarded my flight and popped in my earbuds, excited to fully take in “Where All Ends Meet”. You don’t need to be 40,000 feet above the ground to appreciate Orchid Eaton’s sophomore album. I was instantly transported to a marvelous world. Corduroy rivers and pinwheel trees of sound were only the beginning of this endless, unfolding panorama. This was a delightful universe composed of refreshing sonics that and I could not get enough.
The creativity of this duo (Matt Leavitt and Brian Moen) does not pay any attention to any musical or structural boundaries. There is an amazing unspoken repertoire shared between these two gifted artists. You would never know that these ideas were transmitted almost entirely remotely during a global pandemic. This is not just music you are listening to. It is completely iridescent with Psychoactive textures that jump from the device and unravel. Matt also carefully crafts his words with the gentle sincerity of a bygone era. Big emotions lead to an even bigger sky. These colorful Waves dissolve and then rise again. This LP is a midnight adventure through a God’s realm.
“Said just right” sets the mood nicely. As the sounds rises up, I imagine the lights darkening in a theatre before the flickering images ensue. This song has a beautiful way of addressing the self-imposed artistic expectation with levity and understanding. It has a therapeutic effect. I felt relief during the first refrain. The small little touches really make the biggest impression. The bass is crisp and enticing. The sweltering reversed sounds mix easily with the simple acoustic tones.
“Blue light” is a dreamy, pop laced fantasy with a smooth finish. Crunchy drums meld with harps, strings and harmonies. The layers of instrumentation coalesce easily. This is a kaleidoscope of ever-changing soundscapes. Orchid Eaton delivers music straight out of the best type of dreams. This jam is syrupy and delicious with a retro feel, but it also unmistakably brand new. The backing vocals dance like floating lanterns on a calm horizon.
“Question Mark” is a self-conscious apology that we have all made before. This sound is stripped down and laid bare for the whole world to see. The Rhodes keyboard plays an unforgettable tune and it is met with some killer synths. This album bounds over expectations and reminds you that it’s time to let it all go. “C-L” tells a story of growing up and breaking out of the rut of adult complacency. It encapsulates the feeling of discovering something very magical that has always been there under your nose. The bass line meets the drums crunch and it kicks in with an affirming bop. I’m looking back vividly at someone else’s memory before realizing this is my life as well. It’s an out of body experience on an empty stomach.
“Who’s Heavy Now” is a off center triumph. It is one of the more serious songs on this LP but its breakdowns provide a generous helping of space and devious smiles. Its gorgeous lush arrangements could accompany an astral travelling session. The themes of rebirth and self-examination announce themselves as your shadowy guides.
“Casino Drums” is one of my clear favorites. Crisp vocals meet a guitar’s flanging echo. Moen’s distorted percussion is a highlight on every track, but especially this one. Matt’s lyrics are reflective and they surprisingly give thanks for one’s burdens. The chorus makes you want to sing along to the travails of life’s cheap thrills. “Put another dollar in. This machine just can’t wait for it. I’m here and I got a friend, but this just wasn’t what I was needing” A warm hearted anthem about the delusions of winning. The synth lines build up to a glorious conclusion. Electronic sound effect punctuates the outro and serve as the humorously cruel punchline. This song wraps its arm around you before you are cutoff and must leave.
The intent of “Lonely Beach” is more abstract than an episode of Adventure Time, but an unmistakable feeling is there. The backing instrumental is somber and whimsical. It eventually disintegrates into an invigorating jam. This duo pushes the boundaries of convention any chance they get. “Center of Gravity” starts with a sparse progression and an expansive panorama of lyrics. The vocal performance that pervades this album is one of its most alluring qualities. It comforts and intrigues at the same time. All the while, it speaks of newly revealed wonders. It’s a meditation and mantra for the well-travelled listener. When Matt sings “Floating above what’s life about” It made me smile. This sums up the unspoken theme of the entire record. The sonics swell into a half time harp laden hallucination of bent notes and warped chords.
This is an album that deserves multiple listens. The phonics are very tasty and of the highest quality. They should win a Grammy for the arrangement alone. I constantly get the impression that I am watching this music. It is the heart of these artists that sticks out the most. The vibe is impeccable, amazingly detailed, and hand crafted. This is something I have never heard before. Give this record a spin and find yourself at the intersection of where all ends meet.
I sat down with Matt Leavitt to discuss their new album
(Melodic Noise) What instruments do you and Brian Moen play?
(Orchid Eaton) For this record both of us are the primary musicians on it. Brian played drums, percussion, keyboard, synths. He mixed it and I kind of did all of the other stuff, guitars, various keyboards of all types and was singer as well. There is some harp on the record as well and I worked with an instructor at MacPhail Center for Music, Shari Rothman.
(MN) How did you approach “Where All Ends Meet” as opposed to your first record “Start of the Dream”?
(OE) This project is a forum to be more direct in terms of song writing as much as possible. In previous projects that I have been involved with I felt like there was a limit to how lyrically honest I could be and also a little bit confined as far as what type of tonalities would be appropriate for various projects, I was in. When I started the first record, a lot of that was documenting the process of recording myself and making a ton of mistakes. A part of the process of writing is feeling like I am earning it in some respects. Doing it myself and maybe doing it the wrong way. From an engineering perspective its always a continual process of upgrading our project studio and making it as analogue true as possible. Brian and I gravitate towards an analogue workflow. There is an inherent sense of refining ideas and parts to capture them in a performance as possible instead of nitpicking things apart and editing things to death. I spent a lot of time writing parts to try to make it feel easy but also have it be as much of a linear process as possible.
(MN) Do you have a favorite piece of gear?
(OE) If I had to pick one…. When I started working on these songs at home, I was able to find a 70’s Telecaster deluxe. I love that guitar. I don’t own that many guitars but that’s the one I play the most. I feel like old gear has songs to present and you might run the course whatever that sound is and you move on to something else. That guitar is still a hard love.
(MN) Can you tell me about the concept behind the song “Casino Drums”
(OE) I started that tune in the wake of my wife losing her dad. Experiencing that pain that she was going through. Trying to communicate my own experience with digital livelihood and social media that many people have a love/hate, hot and cold relationship with. Very interesting that at its core we are animals and a lot of these devices override our better senses and we don’t even understand that they are doing it in a lot of ways. I had come up with the title for this song demo as a goof and we leaned into that roulette mindset like “What am I going to get today?” or “What is going to fill me up today?” Everything is so short term and bite size. It’s something that I think about on a day to day basis because I am very susceptible to short term distractibility.
(MN) How would describe your music
(OE) With the goal of trying to encapsulate it in a word “Basement Pop” Definitely it proves true. There is a certain amount of ragged edges that we like. Signals with noise, shuffling of feet on the floor, everything not being quite pristine and perfect. That appeals to us both in a sense. The process of being intentional about writing songs and continuing to break things down, rewrite and edit. One of the important things to me in this project, It’s a forum to explore as deep as possible until everything rings true.
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Review and interview by: James Adamiak, Writer @RisingPathMusic
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC
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