By von Richthofen
A mere two songs into The Helio Sequence's
latest release for Sub Pop and I'm suddenly emerging from the forest of Hyrule with the Tri-Force intact and the Master Sword in my possession. Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel have clearly patterned their finest moves on some vintage Nintendo soundscapes. While you may find yourself reaching for a gaming controller at times, the beautiful simplicity and aching melodies sewn into these songs are anything but gimmicky. Summers, who lost his ability to sing clearly during the tour for 2004's Love and Distance
album, sounds energized and his meditations on lost love are comfortable painted in a variety of palettes. And paint they do. "Shed Your Love"
begins as a pretty stripped down rumination on distancing yourself from an old lover. Buried deeply in the mix are the faint echos of subway tracks. "Hallelujah" draws immediate comparisons to Modest Mouse, (no surprise given Weikel's past participation with that band) with its bouncy chorus and staccato beats. "No Regrets" is pure barroom sing-along complete with knee slap percussion. This album bears a repeat listen as new subtle flourishes are there to be discovered, especially with headphones. In Summers' words, "we all lose the path through the black and the blue...but we all come back slackly to the tried and the true". Indeed.
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