Lily Tapes & Discs are back with yet another great release, this time bringing together two of our favs, Jason Calhoun’s naps and Ben Lovell’s Lung Cycles, on one beautifully presented tape.
naps gets side A, Calhoun’s now signature blend of ambient drone and field recording delivered with a previously unheard glowing lucidity. As Lily Tapes puts it, “[the] poignant clarity that was only hinted at before now cracked wide open.” It’s soft and somnolent but so much more than a pink-noise sleep aid, four songs that scoop out a space in the day for reflection, soothing and stirring in equal measure.
‘First’ feels like a dawn, both literally and metaphorically, like lemon-yellow sunbeams slowly spreading across a grey landscape, while ‘Second’ feels like the gentle unfurling of morning as it shimmers its way through its ten minute run-time. ‘Ninth’, the shortest naps track on the tape, pairs the drones with abstract field recordings, gentle clicks and clacks that somehow conjure a cosy and reassuring feeling.
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The Lung Cycles side comprises of pipe organ recorded live to tape in an empty cathedral, and is every bit as haunting and reverential as that sounds. The earth has turned its back on the morning sun from the naps side, Lovell’s improvised performance like a flame flickering in the dark. ‘rvc’ is quietly devastating, using some key changes that make your stomach drop in their understated emotion, while ‘dcs’ continues this vibe, a weird nightsong playing to itself in an empty room.
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The tape closes on another +10 minute slow burn, a song that eventually burns as dramatic as any of the others. It’s the perfect patient end to an album that does things at its own pace, in it’s own way. You can get the naps / lung cycles split now on cassette and download from the Lily Tapes and Discs Bandcamp page.
Cover art by Benjamin Torrey