Ground Loops is the solo project of Queens-based musician TC Brownell, who you might now as part of Wild Pink and Dead Painters. Though serving primarily as a bassist in the other acts, Brownell found another side to his artistic practice nagging to be pursued, and the eventual outlet for this became the self-titled debut Ground Loops EP. “It’s been a whole new world of creativity for me,” Brownell explains, “trying to learn to stop playing so much and let the sound design do the heavy lifting.”
The project also coincided with the birth of a child, and with the adaptation to parenthood came a move away from hectic practice spaces to the solitude of a home studio. Where noisy freedom once reigned, Brownell now found himself working on headphones in the snatched moments he could manage, developing a newfound patience with the creative process. Throw in the pandemic and the accompanying inward turn, and Ground Loops became a project shaped by forces of isolation and reflection.
Unsurprisingly, this is born out in the Ground Loops sound. To call the tracks minimalist is to underestimate their energy, but something of that mindset is certainly present. These are detailed songs but spacious too, every element not only given space to be heard but also grow. The lasting impression is that of organic development, the various components reaching out in all directions and meshing with those around it, knitting together to form a dense and textured sound.
We’re delighted to share the release’s lead single, ‘They Weren’t Made to Last’. Rising out of a simple guitar line and pattering synths, the track intensifies as it progresses, developing ever more complex patterns. The sound is thematically relevant too, the song wrestling with the passing of time and all its accumulating complications. But within the wistful tone, the sense of progression never falters, a headlong advancement to which you can only give in.