‘Sawtell’ is a new track set for release on February 15, and comes from the album, ‘Modern Remains’, by Brookhaven and Scatter Swept.
Oakland shoegazers Brookhaven’s genesis was in the early 2000s, when Sonny James started a home recording project, inviting a number of collaborators to join him, including Michael Jacobs (The Tunnel), Henry Larsen (Night Work), and Nick Andre (Her Space Holiday). Now he’s recording with Scattered Swept, a trio comprising Ryohei Hinokuma, Matt Holt, and Patricia Kavanaugh. Holt and Hinokuma started playing together in 2013, with Kavanaugh joining them in 2015. Scatter Swept had its official creation in late 2017, and the three blend their love of mathy, dissonant, guitar melodies, with anchored rhythms, resulting in experimental, yet very catchy tunes.
‘Modern Remains’ is primarily an instrumental album, but there are the occasional vocals to some of the tracks, provided by Patricia.
‘Sawtell’ is an instrumental track, primarily guitar and drums, but with the occasional bass element, which tends towards the grunge end of the shoegaze spectrum. At just under 4 minutes long, it’s punchy and enticing, and although there’s some repeated motifs throughout the track, it never becomes boring; there’s just enough divergence to keep it catchy. Listening through headphones you discover it’s a multi-layered piece with different parts of the track coming at you from different angles. It takes a few listens to really appreciate what’s going on here, and it feels as though it’s been put together like a jigsaw puzzle – some parts initially feel as though they could fit in with others, but you realise that there’s only one possible way it could work. It’s a grand, opulent, and sumptuous piece that must be played with the dial firmly set to 11.
Before ‘Modern Remains’, Brookhaven have released two full length studio albums, as well as several singles and EPs on the Expel Records Label. ‘Modern Remains’ was recorded by Brookhaven and Scatter Swept in Oakland, California, with mixing and mastering by Jonah Strauss of Survivor Sound.
Find Brookhaven online on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp. You can similarly find Scatter Swept on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.
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