SYLVAN ESSO: S/T
The story goes that Amelia Meath (one third of Vermont folk trio Mountain Man) approached producer Nick Sanborn (Megafaun, amongst others) to remix one of her tracks. Particularly happy with the result, they decided to try for a full collaboration. Enter ‘Sylvan Esso’.
The end result is less ‘Fleetwood Macintosh’ than you might imagine, with Meath’s folk roots almost entirely removed from the production; There is but the barest glimpses of untreated guitar, and a vocal delivery equally ethereal and confident, dealing less with meadows and maidens, and more with dudes, ass, t-shirts, and “getting down”.
Opener ‘Hey Mami’ sets the scene with a capella harmonies gradually being surrounded by hand claps, dubstep beats, and some of the wettest bass since that Jon Hopkins album. Rather than sounding like a remix of two disparate elements, Sanborn’s production gives a contemporary frame for Meath’s relentless vocal melodies.
The duo’s pop leanings are clear, this is an album full of hooks and climaxes where it could otherwise be austere and experimental. Indeed, the album occasionally threatens to roll into floor-filler territory; H.S.K.T. (borrowing its refrain, and little else, from children’s standard ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’) has a 4/4 beat and a snare-rush, for goodness’ sake.
Highlight ‘Wolf’ sees Amelia comparing sleazy pick-up artists to the titular beast, with a minimal backdrop of 8-bit bass, echoing Grimes’ Oblivion, without the foggy reverb. Lead single ‘Coffee’ tiptoes around R&B, before breaking free into a gleeful coda.
The remix that started it all, ‘Play It Right’, is perhaps the least successful, with everything thrown at it. Whilst a thrilling pop rush on its own terms, the strongest tracks here are at their most successful when Meath’s vocals are given room, whilst the electronic elements rumble in.
To their credit, the dichotomy between the duo only surprises initially, with thrill of bass and beats accompanying Appalachian harmonies being less of a draw than their common goal of reaching the same point of pure pop.
