And so it came to pass that Ethan Miller and Noel Von Harmonson (ex-Comets On Fire), Meg Baird (ex-Espers, solo folksiness) and Charlie Saufley (of some outfit called Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound) got together at some point in the waning years of the Obama administration. Rather than merely reminiscing about the fun they had back at Arthurfest in 2004 or whatever though [how sad that such things are now a distant, historical moment, gone for good], they took it upon themselves to form an absolutely stupendous folk-rock/heavy psyche cross-over band under the improbable name of ‘Heron Oblivion’, and verily, people over thirty who like rock music did rejoice.

At least nine months late to the party, it now comes time for me to craft a written assessment of their debut LP, and to generally celebrate the existence of what is probably the best thing pressed up by the Sub-Pop label since before the birth of some kids who are now starting bands (or at least doing whatever ghastly things it is kids do nowadays in lieu of starting bands).

In short then: ‘Heron Oblivion’ sounds like a masterfully wrought combination of ‘Unhalfbricking’ era Fairport, ‘Everybody Knows..’ era Crazy Horse and a whatever-era-you-like motherlode of PSF-style amp-melting Japanese psyche…. and I probably don’t need to tell you that such a combination pretty much represents pure fucking zen perfection to your correspondent.

All the more so when, as here, the aforementioned antecedents are wrangled with such mellifluous ease as to allow the band to sublimate them into Their Own Style pretty much from the word go, dismissing potential buzzkill re: retro posturing or inter-generational plagiarism for the banal snarking it is, wiping such concerns from their desk with an authoritative sweep of sweet, sweet, indisputably rocking music whose spirit of communal interplay (if not necessarily its core ingredients) place it firmly within the Eternal Now.

One thing that should probably be highlighted here is the recording / production on this LP, which I think is absolutely fantastic. The quieter passages are hear-a-pin-drop glacial, with careful attention paid to dynamics and beautiful, unobtrusive reverb shimmering as if it were taped in a flooded concert hall; as soon as the guitarists hit their fuzzboxes though (which, praise be, they do pretty much constantly), the sound roars in maxed out and compressed like a jet fighter afterburner, the nuance of every string bend, amp shriek and wah-squelch captured in exultantly hair-raising fashion. The result is a fusion of genteel drift and no bullshit heaviosity wherein the two modes seem to be working in unison rather than in conflict – a rare and delicate balance that here works splendidly.

Another thing I should mention is how surprised I was when I checked in with some of this album’s press a few months after acquiring and listening to it, and discovered that Ethan Miller *isn’t* one of those guitarists. Instead, he remains way back in the mix on bass (which is near inaudible at some points) whilst Van Harmonson and Saufley let the sparks fly up front, one or both of them doing such an uncanny impression of Miller’s trademark wang-bar pummelling style from back in the Comets days that… well, I don’t know what to think, really. I guess great guitar players just think alike within the apparently blessed orbit of this band and their circle. Jeez, I dunno.

I just love this record, basically. It does all the things I like – simple as. The only thing that stops me in fact from sending Heron Oblivion to #1 with a bullet, tippexing their name onto the back of my jacket and hitchhiking across the Atlantic to see them play is a somewhat… I’m not quite sure how to put this.... a somewhat overly chilled, self-satisfied feeling hanging over the whole project?

I mean, Baird’s songs are flawlessly pleasant listening, with somewhat of an epic sweep to them, but I’m not sure they’d really make much of an impression without the electric pyrotechnics that surround them here, and, in contrast to my oft-stated belief that good bands should always at least pretend that they are kicking against some undefeatable opposition, Heron Oblivion sound like an easy-going group of professional musicians getting together to do the nice stuff that they do, safe in the knowledge that they are doing it well and that the results are headed for worldwide distribution on a nice label.

Which I realise is a spurious complaint that could reasonably be aimed at least half of the groups I write about here, but, listening to their records shouldn’t make us feel it, if you know what I mean – especially given that circumstances across the globe make it increasingly clear that this laidback/entitled approach to the creation of culture is one that – even for these guys – is increasingly looking like a luxury soon to be consigned to the past.

Never mind all that though - that this album is great is all you need to know in the first instance.

This LP is available in various iterations direct from Heron Oblivion’s bandcamp page, or no doubt from your local vendor of Sub-Pop product.

Labels: best of 2016, Heron Oblivion