Whip - Sewn in Seems 7"
(Zeal)
The Belgium label Zeal Records is a 7" only label, and has released or are releasing a lot
of impressive bands. So far, they have released or scheduled to release 7"s from
Hopewell, Sonna, Tarentel, Rothko, Auburn Lull, and Whip. The Whip 7", Sewn in Seems,
contains two songs; the title track, "Sewn in Seems," and "Windsong."
"Sewn in Seems" is my new favorite Whip song. At the foundation of the song is everything
you would expect from Jason Merritt (AKA Whip); wonderfully raw front-porch singing and
acoustic guitar. Normally Merritt ends there, letting the simplisty and naked beauty of
the songs speak for themselves. However, with "Sewn in Seems," he has taken the song to a
whole new level. Besides the addition of standing bass (played by Dan), and piano (played
by Jeremy), Merritt has added a lot of atmosphere to the song by his playing of some
mellow flutes, wine glasses, and manipulated tea kettles. The end result is spectacular.
I always thought that a lot of accompaniment would ruin the simplistic beauty of Merritt's
songs, but this 7" (a predecessor to the new album) has shown that his accompaniment is as
tasteful and unique as his previous song writing.
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