Let Us Garlands Bring

Let Us Garlands Bring is a huge technical jump in an exciting direction after the somber, minimalist Placer Found. If Placer Found seemed monothematic, the band's sophomore album explodes in Technicolor glory, adding cellos, violins, and harmonies where once there was only empty space. With songs that sparkle, fade, and then explode into organic and ornate mini-symphonies, Early Day Miners step up to the plate and hit a home run out of the park. Gone is the somewhat empty adherence to slowcore clichés. Instead, Daniel Burton and company use their influences as starting points in exploring musical moods and genres. Guitars twinkle like piano notes on the Eno-esque "Light in August," "Autumn Wake" would be right at home on a Wim Wenders film score, and "A Common Wealth" comes across like Disco Inferno jamming with Talk Talk. On other songs, the band touches on shoegazer shimmer, juxtaposes tribal drums with a rolling harmonica, and generally makes Godspeed You Black Emperor! look like amateurs when it comes to crafting dynamic arrangements. Perhaps most importantly, Burton seems to have a newfound sense of passion in his vocals, and this seems to endlessly invigorate his bandmates. Let Us Garlands Bring is a beautiful album, alive with emotion and texture. It easily places the band in the big league of artists who paint landscapes and feelings with music.