M. Ostermeier – Lakefront

M. Ostermeier, driving force behind shoegaze band Should, builds on his recent Percolate with Lakefront, the musical journey of the aftermath of a heavy night or lost weekend.

Its track titles tell a story of memory; of conflicting recollections and the confused haze of being unable to recall – or at least this is what it feels like.

Although some of the tracks on their own lack specific hooks, this is a record that should be viewed more as a whole rather than the sum of its parts. It forms as one’s recollections might through the fog of a hangover; the crunching glass-opening of ‘Window Frost’, building through sparse piano into an ambient drone that carries into the title track. From here, thoughtfully used field recordings provide the main interest; the clatter of dropped somethings paired with the glitchy whispers of sweet nothings.

Window Frost

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For me, however, the album proper starts with ‘Overtone’. This and the subsequent track ‘Competing Memories, Both Correct’ exude a natural flow that perhaps the opening tracks lack. From here there is a true sense of cohesion and musicianship: the piano, ever present, ties the ever-changing package of haunting chimes and delicate strings. These are the tracks that feel like seperate entities, yet still retain that universality of the entire record.

Competing Memories, Both Correct

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The album finishes strongly, too. The final two tracks are reminiscent of a more electronic Balmorhea; every chord and sound placed for deliberate effect.

Hibernate, already displaying a roster of fine talent, have once again come through for us; Ostermeier’s future work promises to be cracking!

Review by Chris Grenville

About the album:

Written and produced by M. Ostermeier
Mastered by Taylor Deupree

01-Window Frost
02-Lakefront
03-Recollection
04-Overtone
05-Competing Memories, Both Correct
06-Lost Weekend
07-Lost Weekend, Revisionist History

M. Ostermeierís recent solo debut Percolate (Parvoart, Jan 2010) featured fragile Rhodes and acoustic piano melodies atop minimal downtempo electronics and Labradford-esque guitar tones. Here on the seven-track mini-album Lakefront, the skeletal acoustic piano remains, but the minimal beats have evaporated and we are left with something more organic, more haunting.

Harold Budd is still an apt reference for the piano fragments, but the infusion of acoustic recordings and darker guitar and electronics bring to mind Deaf Center and Library Tapes. The melancholic mood that builds throughout Lakefront evokes feelings of nostalgia and regret. One theme present in Marcís mind as he was writing these pieces was how the passing of time necessarily brings uncertainty to ones recollection of the past and uncertainty that has its own poignancy.

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www.myspace.com/marcostermeier
www.hibernate-recs.co.uk