Flights is the project of Eric Hillman and Brian Holl from Nashville, Tennessee. They cite Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene, Radiohead and The Album Leaf as influences and this is clearly apparent in the brand of ambient folk found on their album Anywhere But Where I Am. The album was created through the course of a year in “an abandoned office building in the dead of the Wisconsin winter” and the band’s home studio in “Nashville’s sweltering summer”.
The album contains a rather eclectic collection of tracks, containing a classical piano-driven instrumental title track, the Bon Iver-esque “Taller”, swirling violins and cellos (see “Mountaintop”, reminiscent of Shearwater) and the hushed melancholy of the final track “Fake Arms”. Despite this variation, it is an engaging and cohesive listen, and one which definitely warrants being played from start to finish as a complete piece. To top it all off, the album is available on a name-your-price basis from the band’s bandcamp page.