I began a Echolyn listening binge earlier today before seeing other binge threads here. Now listening to Suffocating the Bloom. Will continue on thru the catalog. It's been a while and am enjoying it very much. Are these guys underrated, taken for granted? I wouldn't think so.
Underrated? Perhaps... I don't think they get quite the accolades they deserve from the wider world, but they definitely have a fan base. I love them, especially from Cowboy Poems Free onward, where they developed their own sound IMO. Kind of a prog-Americana thing going on, which doesn't sound like anyone else from that time really that I know of.
As The World smacked me upside the head the first time I heard it 10 years ago (while drinking some Macallan, no less), and I've been a fan ever since.
I first heard Echolyn in 1996 (As the World) and was slapped upside the head also. I agree with what you write, not getting quite the accolades, the prog-Americana description is so apt. A brilliant bunch of musicians.
Another Echolyn fan. Started with the first album and was blown away by the writing/arraignments and performance. This band in the early days had so much passion and drive, you could tell they would do what they had to do in order to survive and peform their art. I don't know where they recorded the first album but you could tell it wasn't in a major studio, but I love the recording and the passion they recorded with.
I remember the troubles they were having with Sony and I believe they were able to upgrade to a better studio(can anyone confirm this?).
I have the Echolyn 2012 album on vinyl.
I also have the live Stars and Gardens DVD and highly recommend it.
I really like the song “On Any Given Night.” That was the song that caught my interest back when the first album came out. Their whole catalog is great.
I'm a great fan of the debut album, Suffocating and Mei are good too.
As The World would be top of the rest they got a little to much typical Neo Prog (speak: nice but boring) lately for me...
I think too many people dismiss the first album because of unpolished production and some naive material. But I never tire of the optimistic vibe and I think Kull's guitar tones on some of the songs are among the most beautiful I've ever heard on any record.Originally Posted by Top Cat
I'm also a huge fan, and my first listen was "As The World". It blew me away, and I've been following them ever since. I remember it took awhile to warm up to CPF for me, but it eventually connected. Saw them at NEARFest 2002, bought Mei from their merchandise table and got to chat with them for a few. I was bummed when they had to pull out of Progstock last year, I hope to see them live again someday.
The Stars and Gardens DVD is awesome!Another Echolyn fan. Started with the first album and was blown away by the writing/arraignments and performance. This band in the early days had so much passion and drive, you could tell they would do what they had to do in order to survive and peform their art. I don't know where they recorded the first album but you could tell it wasn't in a major studio, but I love the recording and the passion they recorded with.
I remember the troubles they were having with Sony and I believe they were able to upgrade to a better studio(can anyone confirm this?).
I have the Echolyn 2012 album on vinyl.
I also have the live Stars and Gardens DVD and highly recommend it.
I could never put my finger on it but I love Cowboys Poems Free. It's probably their least progressive album.
Big fan of that one too. Prog Americana is a great description of it. Totally unique stuff.
Yea it sounds a bit like they were influenced by 16 horsepower on it. I know one of them likes them.
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I concur. Take a song like "Texas Dust" for example. The juxtaposition of the more Americana-tinged sound with Chris Buzby's weird synths doesn't seem like it should work, and yet it totally does.
One of my favorite more recent tracks is "Some Memorial" from the 2012 self-titled record. "Take a handful of seeds, and a mouthful of dirt/ lie down, and become a garden" has to be one of the best lines in any song ever, IMHO. And the vocal harmonies when they sing "Leave nothing as it was, leave nothing as it was" pack so much punch.
I got a free 3-song sampler from As The World at ProgFest '94 (the one where Kevin Gilbert performed The Lamb). Been a fan ever since.
I really like the energy of their early stuff, but lately I find myself mostly listening to their most recent albums. I think they are one of those rare bands like IQ that get better with each release.
I think I've been listening to 'lyn since the off, and Cowboy Poems Free is my single fave album of theirs. To my ears, whether or not 'progressive' to this or that degree, the Americana song-cycle narrative (interspersed with short instrumental motifs) fits them perfectly, and the melodies are far stronger than anything they'd previously done (IMO). "Too Late for Everything" has an amazing aura of dissilutioned closure to it.
After that one, the s/t 'window' double (vinyl) is probably the one I've spun the most. The earlier 'proggy-prog' titles have some very solid stuff on them, but there's something altogether forced or contrived about that exact aspect of their identity approach; as if they're never really too comfortable With what's apparently expected of them. I quite like the outtakes/rarities comp, though - When the Sweet Turns Sour.
People into later (i.e. post-reformed) Echolyn should check out Dreadnought's The American Standard.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
If I may correct the great master, this should be Dreadnaught. With an "a".
Great master remains eloquently and permanently flawed. And an 'a' it iss. Ass in 'a great as'.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
my first one was Suffocating the Bloom a few years ago. I remember my first impression was that this was some sort of prog super-group - not in the traditional sense of the word, but rather because their chops and songwriting talent let them do all sorts of things that most modern prog groups couldn't pull off.
agree with the people in this thread - the early stuff is great, but the post-reformation material is the best. the 'window' album is one of my all-time favorites in any genre. Mei is really something; not the first attempt at a really long-ass tune but IMO it's one of the best. I recommend putting it on without knowing how long it actually goes, because at a certain point all the false endings and little digressions start to get hilarious.
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
Agree, another great album and band.
Thanks for the recommendation! I'mma check that out.
I've been a fan since As The World. I remember them being one of my early prog discoveries, getting blown away by that album. I remember tracking down a used copy of Suffocating The Bloom, since it was out of print at the time. Then I was bummed when they broke up, and excited again when they got back together again.
I remember getting into a lively discussion with Mike Ostrich about Cowboy Poems Free. I remember he was very disappointed in it at the time, while I quite liked it. He's warmed up to it in the years since.
As for my favorite post-reunion Echolyn, it would have to be The End Is Beautiful. Just a great album from beginning to end.
I discovered Echolyn in '95 with As The World which blew me away. Disappointed by all the others apart from Cowboy Poems Free which I love but lost interest when I heard Mei..
I was just thinking of spinning some Echolyn recently, haven't dug their stuff out in a while.
Sadly, I'm in the "early years" camp. I like Mei OK, but after that really lost my interest and I don't own any post Mei stuff anymore. CPF is a great rock record with some Proggy elements, so I like it for what it is... but I don't really put if up there with Echolyn's proggier stuff. For me, it's mostly StB and AtW. Wish they were able to meld some of that intricacy with the warm sound of their more recent albums. I love that aspect of the newer stuff, but otherwise I find them pretty boring. Wish I felt otherwise, because I've been into Echolyn since the very early 90s.
Whatever. As someone else said, the Stars & Gardens DVD is really awesome. I may dig that out for a fresh listen.
Bill
Yeah I don't have any post Mei titles. Tried some but they got more dark lyrically and more mellow musically. That's good for them, a band's music should evolve over time and not remain the same based on their life experiences but it just didn't jive with what I was looking for.
A band's ability to convey optimism without making me puke is rare and prized. That's what early Echolyn has for me that I can find almost nowhere else.
Post-As the World, there's a constant lapsing into dark fatalism that's understandable, sometimes enjoyable but unfortunate. I like all the post-Sony albums very much, probably Echolyn (windows) the best, but I haven't gotten addicted to them like the first 3.
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