The Skygreen Leopards - Disciples of California
Tracklist:
- Disciples of California
- Places West of Shawnapee
- Sally Orchid
- Egyptian Circus
- Marching Band
- William & the Sacred Hammer
- Golden Pilgrim
- Jesus Was Californian
- I Remember Sally Orchid
- Silvery Branches
- Hollow Tree
There is something to be said for a band that can win a listener over after losing them completely, and with this album, the Skygreen Leopards have become just that sort of band. After Life & Love in Sparrow’s Meadow, I had placed them in the category of those struggling to sound like something they were not, with every song too densely layered with flutes and waning vocals in an attempt to sound psychedelic. Disciples of California goes back to basics, and the resulting album is much more impressive.
There are certain trends in music, as any art form, that peak and drop in the social consciousness of the audience and artists. This dynamic can be seen operating in the last two Skygreen Leopards albums. While Life & Love… was a nice enough record, the straining of the vocals as well as the overindulgent compositions, which often enveloped countless woodwinds and the like, surely turned more people than just myself off. That album and (in my mind) this band were another case of great intentions but faulty production, and they seemed a band which lacked the confidence to simply record what came naturally to them for fear that it wouldn’t be the “it” thing of the week.
With the rise of online publications (completely unlike this one, of course) that feature multiple posts a day and which highlight bands that could’ve formed yesterday with what could just as easily pass as the band’s promo literature as a brief synopsis of one song, the concept of “it” changes almost by the hour. Therefore it’s best to say fuck it and just enjoy/create music on your own terms.
This seems to be the same mindset that the Skygreen Leopards have adopted for recording Disciples of California, an album of much quieter soundscapes that brings to mind the quiet alt-country of bands like Lowlights or Castanets more than the overly saturated sounds of the faux-psych movement.
Highlights on an album like this one, which uses the immense power of space and quiet over noise, are hard to identify. But if one must start anywhere, the title track makes for a tremendous start, and the moodiness of songs like “William & the Sacred Hammer” and “I Remember Sally Orchid” make them standouts. It does an album like this one no justice to ask you to listen to one or two tracks, as songs flow wonderfully from one to the next and one’s hand rarely moves to skip a single moment.
The title and cover of this album have an interesting coherency that meshes with the band itself. Much like the California landscape, which is one of extreme variance both geological and social, this is a band that has indulged in various styles throughout its existence. The result this time may be their best, most genuine effort yet.
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