Greg Davis - Arbor
(Carpark)
Many artists have tried to merge together folk and electronica, however, there has been no music that seemed to fit both monikers equally. Acts like the Beta Band create electronica and add subtle folk touches. Artists like Gastr del Sol create folk and add subtle electronic touches. However, before Greg Davis, there was no artist that represented the middle ground, seeming equally a folk artist and an electronic artist.
Davis' debut, Arbor, is a supple, soothing record that washes over the listener with gentle tides of sound. The music is consistently downtempo and soft; while textures are sometimes abstract or bumpy, no sound is allowed to disagree with the ear.
While the album seems very much inline with last year's Endless Summer by Fennesz, perhaps this utter listenability is the most substantial difference. Fennesz' music is structured to be at times difficult even when he is referencing pure pop music; Davis on the other hand never lets the music become "difficult." Each song is meant to provide a comfortable space for the ear, even if it is filled with angular or rapid beats.
"Coventry" is an excellent example of this. In lesser hands, the electronic abrasions that fill the first half of the song would sound like imposing photon gun explosions; in Davis' compositions these hard electronic sounds are restrained, instead sounding like waves hitting rocks on the beach. As these wave-like textures subside, a rapidly pulsing techno beat enters, countering the molasses drip of keyboard tones, the mismatched pair of tempos creating a trance-like effect.
Davis pays careful attention to managing these more techno-inspired beats, as well. They are, by nature, fast and persistent, so without such attention, they would easily overpower or distract from the slow motion cascade of guitar and keyboard tones. "Eleven Eight" is a good example of Davis' careful balance of these two elements. The drums do not let up, however, the slow, soothing guitar tones are still allowed to be the center of the song.
To make his music low-key and consistently agreeable, Davis guitar and keyboard playing (and sampling) is often linear and convential. However, there are exceptions. "Sea Green and Cyan (V.2)" uses tones that sound like they were recorded backwards, creating an elliptical pattern of sounds. The more uptempo "Nicholas" is another example, cutting up a Nick Drake sample to create a nonlinear progression before giving way to a chaotic smattering of beats and debris.
Overall, however, Arbor is a calming, relaxing album. The compositions are layered and complex, however, the goal is not to give nods to the intelligentsia but rather to ease the common listener. Perhaps then the album has more in common with David Pajo's Aerial M album than any laptop electronica release. Davis may not attempt any guitar heroics (save the stellar, crystalline 9 minute title track that closes the album), but despite the difference in style, the listening experience is much the same.
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