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Eau Claire, "Eau Claire"
When the only complaint I have about a record is that it's far, far tooshort, that's got to be a good thing. This collaboration betweenJessica Bailiff and Rachel Staggs could go on for another hour and I'dbe more than happy to get lost in it.Clairecords
Something about this EP from Eau Claire reminds me of being young andgetting lost inside those circular racks of winter clothes at thedepartment store. I would crawl into the center of a rack of dresses orwinter coats and enjoy that dark solace away from the harsh fluorescentlight of the mall for as long as I could get away with it. I couldsimilarly wrap myself up in the warm, fuzzy drift of guitars andreverb-drenched voices here and use this record as a refuge from therest of the world for hours on end if it were only a bit longer!
EauClaire's approach will be familiar to fans of either of the folksinvolved, or to fans of Clairecords' back catalog. This is blissful,slow-moving, dreamy pop with enough lo-fi grit to keep it from soundingcoy. The tracks are mostly short and simple but layered with effects,synths, and who knows what else to achieve a mysterious haze thatfrankly needs no deconstructing. Even the nine minute long track"Soaring" is completely free from bloat and self-important staging, andwhen it’s over I can’t imagine that nearly ten minutes have ticked by.Listening to Eau Claire feels like bathing in light or falling in slowmotion through clouds without any fear of hitting a bottom. I coulddescribe the sound all day, but what’s important is to close your eyesand just let it wash over you.
Even with a hidden bonus track,this 20 odd minute EP is just a taste of the fruits that thiscollaboration can bare, and with any luck we’ll hear a lot more fromthis duo in the future.
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