{"id":6533,"date":"2014-01-27T15:48:16","date_gmt":"2014-01-27T20:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/?p=6533"},"modified":"2023-11-19T16:19:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-19T21:19:25","slug":"album-review-held-in-splendor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/album-review-held-in-splendor\/","title":{"rendered":"ALBUM REVIEW: Held In Splendor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MEX149-Cover-hi-res\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Everything will regenerate as love.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/h4>\n

\u201cQuilt\u201d<\/a> is an apt name for this Boston trio, who weave together assorted instruments, genres, and moods on their stirring sophomore album, Held in Splendor<\/i><\/a>. The psych-folk band were already known for their layered vocal harmonies and vintage sound, displayed in full on their 2011 eponymous debut, but Held in Splendor <\/i>sees the three experimenting with more dynamic arrangements and a pastiche of instruments not previously heard in Quilt\u2019s signature sound. Perhaps it was the addition of drummer John Andrews, who joined founding members\/college buds Anna Fox Rochinski and Shane Butler for the making of this album, or perhaps it was the long hours logged in a legit recording studio in Brooklyn, NY, or perhaps it was Woods member Jarvis Taveniere taking the role of producer\u2014 something surely gave the band way to blossom beyond its boundaries in these 13 tracks, due out 1\/28 on Mexican Summer.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong\u2014for those familiar with Quilt, Splendor <\/i>loses none of the band\u2019s retro sensibilities but it certainly expands on them. \u201cArctic Shark,\u201d for example, works wonders as the album\u2019s opener, inviting listeners to a warm and happy place with floating sitars and trance-like \u201cOooh\u201ds layered atop Rochinski\u2019s honeyed voice, singing \u201cEverything will regenerate as love.\u201d It plays like an HD version of one of their earlier songs, as does the later track \u201cMary Mountain,\u201d recalling textbook psychedelic folk in keeping with The Mamas and the Papas. Songs like \u201cThe Eye of the Pearl\u201d and \u201cTalking Trains\u201d brush away the lo-fi fuzz of their previous work so that the vocals are crystal clear, glistening atop a lush blend of piano, banjo, and electronic sound effects in the former and subdued guitar in the latter.<\/p>\n

But the album\u2019s stand-outs are the songs that evidence Quilt\u2019s ability to mix things up. \u201cTie Up The Tides,\u201d<\/a> for example, is a pop gem at its core, immediately appealing and subtly addicting thanks to that prominent, catchy bass. \u201cA Mirror\u201d is a sprightly song with audible depth that evolves around its upbeat percussion, evoking \u201870s rock and roll with punchy electric guitar licks. And \u201cSecondary Swan\u201d shows off the band\u2019s delicate lyrical prowess (and apparent love of alliteration), with a soft and orchestral, Andrew Bird-esque sound that hides an unexpected, raving rock-out midway through the song, bringing to mind the skittering energy of bands like the Talking Heads or The Feelies. The tracks careen through quite a few twists and turns but many of them bleed into one another, providing a sense of continuity.<\/p>\n

With reference points that dot the decades, Held In Splendor <\/i>is unfettered psychedelic rock, approaching the genre with a wholly contemporary frame of mind. This is what a sophomore album is meant to do: expand on an established sound and provide proof of a budding band\u2019s staying power. And with this release, Quilt make it clear that they aren\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n

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“Everything will regenerate as love.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cQuilt\u201d is an apt name for this Boston trio, who weave together assorted instruments, genres, and moods on their stirring sophomore album, Held in Splendor. The psych-folk band were already known for their layered vocal harmonies and vintage sound, displayed in full on their 2011 eponymous debut, but Held in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":6534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206,638,202],"tags":[1271,64,961,1269],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/MEX149-Cover-hi-res.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6533"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6533"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48410,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6533\/revisions\/48410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}