Small Sur - Weeds
Small Sur - Elder Days (Live)
'Weeds' is taken from Small Sur's (from Baltimore) forthcoming new EP "Bare Black" on July 12th via Aural States Recordings, the label division of Baltimore-based music blog Aural States. Recorded with several guests including Susan Alcorn, Geoff Graham (of Lower Dens/Jana Hunter), Natasha Tylea-Cooke, and Kate Barutha (of Soft Cat). Engineered by Chris Freeland @ Beat Babies Recording Studio and mixed by Adam Cooke, whose collective credits include Beach House, Lower Dens/Jana Hunter, Wye Oak .... 'Elder Days' is taken from the Livewire: Small Sur @ the Windup Space (2010.03.01). Small Sur is the primary musical alias of Baltimore-based songwriter Bob Keal and current collaborators Austin Stahl and Andy Abelow.
This three-song EP transports the listener into a world occupied by lush drones, heartbreaking melodies, subtle hooks, and carefully crafted, minimalist arrangements. A classic foundation (guitar, bass, piano, and percussion) provides the music’s heartbeat, with sometimes unexpected swells of exquisite texture from banjo, pedal steel, alto saxophone, and cello. Delivered with the fragile sincerity of Nick Drake or Will Oldham, Keal’s tender, haunting vocals remain the centerpiece throughout—his lyrics as steadfast as ever in their evocation of Steinbeck’s realism, Whitman’s over-joyous transcendentalism, and Little Wings’ guru Kyle Field’s child-like wonder.
