New York-based Edison Woods’ third release Nest of Machines is exactly the kind of CD that you’d listen to on a rainy day. It’s incredibly gloomy, alternating between morose piano and violin, all tied together by Julia Frodahl’s haunting voice. While all the death and spiders might turn off casual listeners, given the right mood, it’s perfect.
The piano and violin are joined by a gamut of other instruments ranging from various strings and saxophones to synthesizers. It’d be easy to compare them to bands such as Stars, however the style is closer to jazz or post-rock than indie, lacking its synth-heavy instrumentals. Songs that stand out are the calm-yet-eerie “Letter to the garden,” the wistful “The con man’s lament” and the mournful “Rose,” which has some of the best elements from many of the band’s influences.
Nest of Machines is an impressive offering from a group that’s definitely worth watching in the future and worth perusing if you want to let out your inner angst-ridden emo kid and have a good cry.