Who knew that a walk to Permanent Records on Saturday would produce such lush soundscapes?  I sure didn’t…all I knew was that my copy of Karl Blau’s Zebra had come in…but sitting there on the wall was one of the newest things to come out of the Olde English Spelling Bee…Julian Lynch’s Orange you Glad.

I had heard two tracks off the eight song LP, and knew that was enough to peak my interest enough to grab the LP.  And as always with OESB the record probably had less than a thousand copies pressed.    This record was released back in August, but this was the first I have seen it in the shops.

Previously my only experience with Julian Lynch was his wonderful split with Ducktails that came out on Underwater Peoples, and I have to say that the combination of the two go together perfectly.

Julian Lynch is an interesting character…he has worked for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and is strongly influenced by world music siting Indian and South Asian music specifically.  Lynch also employs a wide array of instruments including harmonium, tabla, and is known for his use of circular breathing techniques on the clarinet.

While Lynch’s influences and musical talents lends itself easily to pop music these days Lynch has successfully created a beautiful album that focuses more on lush tones, and and harmonies rather than traditional pop structure.  A great way to look at Orange You Glad is in relation to Lynch’s friend and musical cohort Matt Mondanile of Ducktails.  Where Ducktails, at least for me, makes music for warm weather…Lynch has created it’s counter part…a mostly instrumental album that is perfect for cooler weather and the winter to come.  When there are vocals they tend to lend themselves to the song structure almost more so than to the words themselves. Lynch toys with this realm of noise music that is experimental and at the same extremely engaging to the listener…even those who might typically be averse to something that even dabbles in the realm of noise.   The Eastern influences are felt throughout the album, and when they are the main focus (like on “Mercury” and the epic ten minute “The Flood”) provide a warming feeling that I haven’t felt yet this year…maybe bringing to mind places with climates of much kinder weather.  It is also hard to deny that Lynch is an excellent guitarist giving the album a bit of a psychedic twist, and this is obvious in “Venom.”

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Venom”

[mp3] Julian Lynch- “Rancher”

video: Julian Lynch- “Seed”

Purchase Orange You Glad from Julian Lynch here, or if you have other musical needs at insound here.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one  up…it is already making this cold fall a little bit better for me.

Julian Lynch will be preforming tonight via live broadcast at  Chocolate Bobka’s Showcase at Monkey Town.  The line up for the show is nothing less than stellar:

Please note Ducktails will not be playing this show, but Mountain Man will.

Julian Lynch also has a show at the Project Lodge in Madison, WI with the Dirty Beaches (Projectors oops…sorry about that one) on November 25th.

Links:

• more on Julian Lynch here.
• buy Julian Lynch releases here.
• more on Ducktails here.
• buy Ducktails releases here.