Consciousness

It's interesting how critics have pigeonholed Windy & Carl's music over the years. Back when British dream-pop was the indie fad, 1994's Portal was tagged as American shoegazing, and in the late ‘90s when the duo became Terrastock music fest regulars, they were categorized under the then prevalent "space-rock" term. And when writers were dubbing atmospherically meandering music as "post-rock," Windy & Carl's 2001 album Consciousness was lumped in with that trend as well. Refreshingly, this album has aged better than any of the buzzwords. Consciousness is a curious name for an album of woozy lullabies sure to lull many a listener into unconsciousness. That's not to say Windy & Carl's sixth outing is boring. At just under 40 minutes long, it spills over with Carl Hultgren's exhilarating guitar textures that envelop Windy Weber's lightly pulsing bass and featherweight vocals (on those rare moments of singing). Aptly titled, "The Sun" bathes Consciousness in radiating guitar layers that ripple brightly like luminous reflections on water. Likewise, "Elevation" unfolds continuously ascending tiers of beaming soundscapes. The title track is the prettiest flower of the bunch with its wavering sonic topography and impassioned melodies that will lovingly tear you apart.