The Dream House / Dedications to Flea

In the four years since their last record and three since their excellent Introspection anthology, much has changed in the musical climate surrounding Windy & Carl's home base of Dearborn, MI (a city that borders on Detroit's west side) as well as in their personal lives. That said, it is absolutely wonderful to know that some things will never change, as Windy & Carl have delivered their finest work to date with Dream House/Dedications to Flea. The album's lengthy "The Eternal Struggle" moves at a glacial pace and, like flower petals, slowly blooms and unfolds to reveal more detail as time passes. The drones and delays from E-bowed guitars are ever-present, but there's more of an organic feeling this time around; it's the sort of music expected to resonate from the halls of majestic chapels and sacred grounds. But for every moment that seems to hang around too long or stagnate just a little too much, there's another soft nuance slowly emerging from the background. "I Have Been Waiting to Hear Your Voice" returns to many of the elements found in classic Windy & Carl moments: beautiful melodies dancing about a bed of drones. Included as a second disc is a tribute to a very special friend and a silent partner throughout the group's collaborative years. Windy Weber's eloquent and poignant liner notes tell the tale of their pet and friend Flea's life and his passing, and the group used field recordings of the dog and worked compositions together around them to create a beautiful elegy that will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who's owned a pet. It's beautiful music from the hands of experts — meticulous and seamlessly beautiful. It proves once again that the best drones aren't necessarily made through laptops and countless cables strapped to endless pieces of analog machinery, and it's a fine return for a duo that was quiet for too painfully long.