We can't recognize music just by melody, but by timbre as well, and where we hear it affects the two. Vinyl, cassettes, and radios accent these memories in their disparate ways. About three years ago, after my boombox had lain dormant for about a year, my curiosity of the airwaves compelled me to frantically turn the dial until a warm, seemingly consistent drone cut through the clatter. Whatever it was, most of its textural depth had been lost through the signal, leaving only a striking sustained interval and a skittering crackle underneath. The hiss rose over the drone, and the piece had ended. If I were to try seeking it out, chances are that the untainted original wouldn't resemble the wondrously obscured FM anomaly I had just heard.
I've had a similarly revelatory experience listening to a tape of Gasoline Gathers Hands, Gathers Friends vocalist Scott Johnson's solo project, Thoughts on Air. Upon the close of his 90-minute Mallo Yallo compilation, "Up on the Downside" was reaching a breathtaking culmination of pensive guitar layering and euphoric harmonies. Upon its very peak, the song had disintegrated into silence and returned once it began to fade out. The song itself doesn't do such, but it makes my particular copy that much less replaceable.
Hamilton, Ontario trio Gasoline Gathers Hands, Gathers Friends wouldn't be unable to mystify without their bleary fidelity, but they would incite a different strain. Their self-titled debut is comprised of such incomparable moments, with the hiss of a 4-track and wooded guitar tone anchoring its intimacy. What lurks behind the gently galloping arpeggios of "For A Moment" is almost inexplicable; be it a creaking chair, rattling microphone, or tape malfunction, it provides a lilt that presses itself against the ear when Johnson whispers "I can feel your voice when I'm here." It's an overwhelming closeness that tiptoes over the threshold of unease, which peers over these 13 songs, no matter how resplendent a melody may become ("Port of What Comes", "Across the Board of Men").
Gasoline Gathers Hands, Gathers Friends has been long-awaited, after having performed local shows, released cassettes, and posted music videos for years now. Having known certain songs from it (including "...the Failure of Your Painted Heart Reminds Me of the Sun" and "For A Moment") for nearly just as long, the album feels like a relic and will even translate as such for those unfamiliar with GGHGF. Alongside the withering analog is the songwriting's lonesome, archaic air, carried by the interweaving melodies and ghostly falsetto that dwell within. Its aged spirit will loom over you even after the needle leaves the groove.
[Gasoline Gathers Hands, Gathers Friends Website]
[Stream/Buy Gasoline Gathers Hands, Gathers Friends from No Shade Records]
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