[rating=8.00]
It’s hard to prepare yourself for Israel Nash’s Lifted that begins with an instrumental prelude that is somewhat reminiscent of the orchestral backdrops Jack Nitzsche created for Neil Young on “Broken Arrow” and “After the Goldrush;” but that impression fades quickly. Nash’s sound is much more enormous. It’s way beyond just cinematic. It’s the kind of sonic experience you might get when falling asleep and hearing a choir, orchestra, and rock band playing in your head simultaneously in a weird dreamscape. And like a recurring dream, the melodies, hooks, and overall sonic effect never completely leaves even after the disc stops playing.
These soaring, untamed, at times calm, at times intimate sounds are designed for escapism. They are supposed to swallow you up. By writing, recording and producing this album, it allowed Nash to leave his own disheartened feelings about the recent election and current divided country behind in favor of existential questions about life and the world. His goal was hippie-like – provide some peace, love and happiness to uplift the listener.
The album was recorded in the studio he built, Plum Creek Sound, a Quonset hut structure that became a sanctuary for him and his multi-instrumentalist five-piece core band who were joined by an additional ten musicians. Hunkered down in the heart of Texas Hill Country, Nash also incorporated found sounds and field recordings to represent the locale. Drums played in rain collection tanks, water rushing against the limestone, frogs and crickets, and even a curious unguarded rattlesnake all appear in various places on the record. Inspired by the methods of John Cage, Nash randomized sounds and music, rearranging them according to the I Ching (The Book of Changes). Arrangements were done by Jesse Chandler, horns played by member of Austin’s cumbia/funk Grupo Fantasma. Strings come courtesy of Kelsey Wilson and Sadie Wolf of the indie-pop group Wild Child. As you might have gleaned, Nash, alongside producer and engineer Ted Young, deliver a multi-layered rock and psychedelic wrapping for meaningful roots songs. But, it’s the enveloping sound that’s the major takeaway. Midway into the album, when used to the effects, one can begin to concentrate on the lyrics and songs.
Once the lingering message of the opening “Roll On” fades, another instrumental intro soon leads into the harmonious “Sweet Springs,” recalling the glory days of the Beach Boys, with Nash handling almost all instruments and vocal parts himself. Sandwiches around “Sweet Springs” are the country rock of “Lucky Ones” and the electric guitar driven “Spirit Falls.” The album concludes with the joyous “Golden Fleece.”
Nash talks about the project, “It’s all about finding, searching for little sparks of inspiration. It may be as sound, a groove, a color, or even an object. Old things are inspiring. Whatever it is, when you find it, it spreads like a conflagration that is out of your control. It doesn’t matter if you’re making a record or living your life, find these inspirations with a vigil eye and watch them change both you and your world.”
Expansive, lush, exquisite – Lifted is unlike anything you’ve heard. It’s therapy for the soul.
