Girls and God is a project lead by David Scanlon, who also plays guitar in a loud and quite unpredictable band called Killer Bob; their pieces range from utilizing impossibly complex rhythmic devices to amorphously large percussive ambience. On Girls and God’s new album, You are copper greening in open air., Scanlon is joined by Angelo Spagnolo, Rob Lundberg and Alena Spanger of the equally unpredictable band, Tiny Hazard. Scanlon has turned the volume and images to a fine-tuned calmness; the bulk of the album rests on subtle, minimal gestures rather than songs laid in concrete, and it yet succeeds in retaining a similarly characteristic variety to Killer Bob.
“Midwife I” is a semblance of a pop song, appearing as if it wants to fall into chorus before simply fading out after 40 seconds, leaving us with nothing but this simple yet visually nostalgic verse: “Small hands brought us here/Your mother wasn’t left with old words/ fed the child old words sell the seeds/oh daughter your next/oh brought the child from the sea.” We hear the same verse five songs later, only this time sung by Spanger, whose voice appears sporadically on the album. The album is full of these powerfully ethereal melodies and distant atmospheres, executed through creative uses of vocal layering and combinations of mediums. It’s an exciting record, one that ends with an serenely distant line over a softly strummed acoustic guitar: “Woman with hair down to her waist.” And it’s over, just as quick as it started.
Stream You are copper greening in open air. below.
