For An Open Sky

A few years back, I was so thrilled to open the latest Tooth and Nail catalog and see a little blurb for a brand new band called Velour100, featuring the drummer from His Name Is Alive.  I had only begun to get into His Name Is Alive and was entranced by their quirky ambient pop.  I was growing tired of the increasingly punk-dominated Tooth and Nail roster, and so I was filled with great anticipation for this band.  And they did not disappoint, releasing “Fall Sounds,“ which could probably be the most sublime pleasure the label ever released.

Then they released the spotty “Of Color Bright.“  I saw them at Cornerstone was less than impressed, and I began to doubt.  Was the magic over?  I had such high hopes for this band that promised to inject a little of that 4AD magic into Christian music.

Well, I’ve regained a little faith with the release of “For An Open Sky,“ the band’s new EP on Distant Sound Recordings.  Some, but not all.  The gorgeous thing about “Fall Sounds” were all of the little sounds that popped up, the gorgeous seques of rippling feedback that sounded like the wind rustling leaves on the sidewalk.  It was the perfect combination of ambient and pop, like a 4AD-ized folk album.  “For An Open Sky” doesn’t quite have that, but it seems a great deal less subdued than “Of Color Bright.“  All 4 songs have that hazy, jangling guitar that you can find in every Velour song, accompanied by quiet organs and gently brushed drums.  Some electronics are used here and there, but more as garnish than anything else.

The vocals, though, are as good as anything Velour has put out.  At times, they’re so lazy and dreamy as if to not even be there, even when Trey Many sings.  And at times, it seems a little too subdued, a little too pleasant and demure to really capture the emotion of the song.  It’s somewhat reminiscent of early Sixpence None The Richer, before Leigh developed an edge to her voice.

Even though the titles of the album and some of the songs suggest deep blue skies, flowery fields, and walks down sun-bathed country roads, this is a release better suited for late night listening or resting in the shade, when you know you should get up but you’re just too darn lazy.

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• Dec 23, 2000, 12:00am