Fresh Cherries from Yakima

valet, the solo project of portland-based multi-tasker honey owens, has been getting a lot of press lately. fresh off of a tour opening for and playing in fresh cherries favorites atlas sound, owens has been interviewed in tiny mix tapes, and naked acid, her stellar recently-released album, has not only garnered a review in popmatters, but a very respectable pitchfork review, as well.

you know that feeling you get when you can’t stop listening to something, but you don’t really know how to describe it? jeff weiss felt that way when reviewing my debut, buttons for north caroline [shameless plug alert], and i find myself similarly grasping for words in vain when trying to put “kehaar” into little bite-sized chunks for reader digestion.

starting out with a simple, repetitive riff on a droning gutiar, owens provides fairly unintelligible lyrics along with subtle feedback flourishes and sea-level drone, before minimalist percussion slowly drives the track into a psychedelic abyss of shrieking feedback and drone and cavernous reverb, swelling up to heights that leave you grasping for air. “kehaar” is a lot like being trapped in a desert cave, all eerie echoes and cascading shadows, leaving you scared as hell, wondering if you’ll end up as some sort of wild animal’s food, but amazed at the beauty you find while you’re struggling to find your way back to sunlight.

valet- kehaar.mp3 [via yousendit]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 5:45 pm and is filed under on repeat, reppin' the northwest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.