The 2002 dissolution-via-extended-hiatus of cosmic-country pioneers Beachwood Sparks spawned a generous litter of side projects and swishy psych-experiments, some bizarrely short-lived (the freshly dismembered All Night Radio), and some a little bit more enduring. But regardless of their relative shelf-life, the surfboard never seems to fall terribly far from the Beachwood umbrella, and each of the former members' post-Sparks projects have been imbued with the same characteristic sun-streaks and slow California ease.
The latest record to pop forth from Beachwood Sparks' sandy grave is Mystic Chords of Memory, which features Christopher Gunst (also of Strictly Ballroom, The Tyde, and Further) and partner Jen Cohen (of The Aislers Set), and was recorded exclusively from inside Gunst and Cohen's shared home. Acknowledging the duo's inherited aesthetic (painfully relaxed), and factoring in the total lack of studio pressure, MCoM's subsequent long-player is an unsurprising sprawl of deliciously lulling fuzz.
Given their pedigree, it may seem unlikely that Gunst and Cohen could stumble across anything more sleepily compelling than the slow, breezy squeals and overwhelming atmospherics that Beachwood Sparks fans so eagerly lapped up, but this debut isn't all spineless sighs and gooey waves. With its soft melodies, sweet vocals, and scratchy DIY production, Mystic Chords of Memory is also an overwhelmingly intimate record, focused and domestic-- much closer to Elliott Smith than former-benchmarks the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield.
The duo's wordy moniker was lifted directly from a phrase in Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address, a lecture delivered in the spring of 1861 and boldly eternalized at the base of Mount Rushmore (the full quote, "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone..." is etched directly beneath Lincoln's face, fodder for zillions of disposable cameras and whirring camcorders every July). Appropriately, the band's sound is just as archaic as a truly striking political speech: Gunst and Cohen blend tinkling bells, melodica, harp, keyboards, bits of samples, tinny drums, and strummy guitars, presenting a vaguely contemporary update on the British folk phenomenon of the late 1960s-- albeit with more blips.
The instrumental "Soul Through the Bullet Hole" juxtaposes puttering drums and thick bass with otherworldly keys, rubbery guitar, and bubbling samples; the singer/songwriter sap of "Golden Dome" is perfectly augmented by a careening violin and Cohen's gentle backing harmonies. Gunst's vocals are lower and less strained than on most of Beachwood Sparks' tracks, and the duo's living room tinkering seems to have freed Gunst from the knee-jerk nu-psych cawing of his past. Mystic Chords of Memory is a surprisingly coherent re-introduction to Gunst, and his professional coupling with Jen Cohen has proven both a freeing and inspired move. Gunst is carrying on the Beachwood torch, but abandoning the baggage.
