LANDLOCKED TO THE EAST by GREG LYON
— Western Ave Drug Mule —
— Vast Departures —
— A Metropolis Too Small —
— If I Could Sing —
— Birds Of Prey, Birds Of Prayer —
— I Have Bottomed Out —
— Landlocked to the East —
— Sorry Virginia —
— High Standards —
— Shiny New Caps —
— Burn Night Stars —
STREAM
MP3
MDRF031 | APR 2015 | 46:48 | FULL-LENGTH DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
Greg Lyon has been a part of the Boston indie scene since the late 90′s. He has played with a multitude of bands such as: Kippertin, Pending Disappointment, The Spanish Armada, Eldridge Rodriguez and The Beatings. 2010 saw him branch off on his own for the first time with the release of Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie. A vast departure from the loud in your face songs we were accustomed to hearing from him. Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie delivered the same amount of brutal honesty, just at a slower tempo, less distortion and at a lower volume. After two years of shows, a trip to SxSW, countless songs demoed on whatever was available, Greg decided to focus on what he loves doing the most, writing and recording songs. He went on a two year binge recording his back log of songs written over the years. The fist release of this collection is a collaboration with Shaun Curran at the Napoleon Complex in Somerville MA, titled “Landlocked to the East” A natural blend of walls of sound, ambient noise and feedback behind an acoustic guitar, or stripping a song down to its bare bones and letting the the simplicity carry the song. No two songs sound alike but somehow all work well together.
MORE RELEASES
MORE REVIEWS
Now comes a vibrant and long-awaited sophomore set, some two years in the making, wherein Lyon directed his attention to a backlog of what turns out to be very impressive material. The new collection Landlocked To The East presents a huge step forward for Lyon in terms of arrangement and production. You'll note we are not saying he proves himself here to be an even better songwriter. This, of course, is almost certainly empirically true, but the fact is that Nowhere Near Poughkeepsie was filled with great songs, and wrongfully slept-on by many. If anything, Landlocked To The East evidences Lyon's greater confidence in his own songwriting chops, or -- at the very least -- that taking two years to make a record very much agrees with him. Whatever the truth may be, on the new set Lyon presents lusher sounds and increasingly nuanced arrangements, which together conspire to make Landlocked To The East a very rewarding listen. The highlight of the set is the opener "Western Ave Drug Mule," an almost-seven-minute number whose final, slowly spinning five minutes sound like one long chorus. A kick and snare drum finally arrive at the close of the fourth minute, ushering in a firm cadence over which layers of vocals pile up, merging with cycling harmonics and faux strings to form a dizzying mesh that falls away abruptly to reveal the acoustic strums underpinning the composition at the close of the song.
The excellent, uptempo rocker "Vast Departures" is also notable for its rich layers: maracas put a finer point on the driving rhythm after the first chorus; the second chorus swells with subtle synths; and a final verse briefly permits spectral voices to cross the stereo field unfettered. All these little layers, all the nuance, echoes the shifting and detailed beauty of the early Mercury Rev catalog, although Mr. Lyon's songwriting remains rooted in a folksy realism (exemplified here, perhaps, by the three-quarter-timed, harmonica- and piano-appointed strummer "If I Could Sing") that leaves no room for that act's unbridled psychedelia. But even Lyon's more folk-leaning material -- such as "Sorry Virginia" -- touts an aural fullness that is the hallmark of this impressively varied collection. Close seconds for best tune on Landlocked To The East are the smoothed-out, poignant ballad "Shiny New Caps" (a perfect candidate for the b-side to "Western Ave Drug Mule," were a single from the collection ever be pressed) and the yet-more-subdued, piano-led and impressionistic number "I Have Bottomed Out." — Jay Breitling, Clicky Clicky