Brown Recluse: Panoptic mirror maze (2011)

“Brown Recluse’s origins as a studio experiment evolved quickly into the arena of group performance following the completion of their self-released debut EP, “Black Sunday.” Formerly Brown Recluse Sings, Brown Recluse (a poisonous spider, for the non-North American reader) have continued to challenge themselves over the last 5 years – following the release of “Black Sunday,” Slumberland Records’ release of “The Soft Skin” EP saw the ensemble further refine the baroque-pop flourishes intimated by their earlier output. Dead Format’s gritty cassette-only release of “Selected Hymns (of the Evening Tapestry)” was a rudimentary collection of demonstration recordings, establishing many of the songs that would see fruition in Slumberland’s forthcoming LP “Evening Tapestry.” Growth and exploration are two of the themes explored in “Evening Tapestry,” and the songs have grown considerably – as has the group. Juxtaposing eerie, minor-key psychedelia with their melancholic take on sunshine pop, Brown Recluse sees their most ambitious collection of songs to date. The previous exercises in composition and arrangement culminating in “Evening Tapestry” have also birthed a mini-LP, “Panoptic Mirror Maze,” which the band will be releasing digitally in conjunction with Slumberland Records” (Facebook)

Brown Recluse – Panoptic mirror maze (2011)

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Brown Recluse: Evening tapestry (2011)

Con la música de Brown Recluse ocurre como con los vinos: cuanto más tiempo pasa por ellos, en este caso cuantas más audiciones llevan más agradable se hacen sus escuchas. Si al principio de enfrentarnos con este Evening tapestry nuestra impresión general fue un tanto desdeñosa, he de admitir que con el tiempo esta primera sensación se fue tornando hacia una agradable sensación de encontrarnos ante un disco hecho con mucho cariño y una ternura exquisita con las melodías poppies que en él nos encontramos. Una forma amorosa (y variopinta) de entender el Pop que muchos grupos actuales manifiestan como un deseo de acercarnos a una intimidad desarrollada en forma de canciones. Oyendo cortes como Impressions of a city morning, Hobble to your tomb, Summer showers, Statue garden o Wooden fingers -con ese exquisito aire al Sunny afternoon de los Kinks-; uno no tiene más remedio que claudicar (gustosamente) y quedarse prendado oyendo un buen disco como este Evening tapestry (2011), el debut propiamente dicho de esta banda de Philadelphia.

Brown Recluse – Evening tapestry (2011)

“Evening Tapestry is a cohesive piece of work. By that I mean the tone is very much set by opener ‘Hobble To Your Tomb’. It oozes a youthful innocence, a characteristic which endeared me to the Magic Kids’ debut album from last year, but I just can’t buy into Evening Tapestry with the same enthusiasm. Well, not for its duration anyway. Some of the tracks do conjure some strange images in my head, though. For example, I can quite clearly see ‘Impressions of a City Morning’ playing over some Laurel and Hardy-style slapstick, but with modern, hip teenagers taking up the respective roles. While the intro on ‘Golden Sun’ is very weekend breakfast radio. I shan’t digress any further with such imagery in fear of readers’ casting aspersions.
The album is littered with horns; a feature which has a tendency to split listeners down the middle. Some see it as a cheap way of stirring up glee when, in fact, it has the opposite effect. Personally, I’m a bit partial to a good serving of brass and it helps when it’s employed in all the right areas as it is here. ‘Wooden Fingers’ is a prime case in point. The song floats about carefree before being kicked skyward, first by an uncharacteristically vigorous guitar line and then a perky flute and trumpet combination. Unfortunately, such moments only come in fits and starts but that won’t stop you from wanting to come and experience them every now and then. It’s just that the mood Brown Recluse are trying to inspire doesn’t fill me up all that often, you know?” (thelineofbestfit.com)

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