After three years of multiple revisions and complete deletions, 'Slow Circles' was engendered as much by the music that adheres to it than by what does not. Meaning at this point in the history of recorded music – where any- and everything can be and is available – what you leave out and avoid is just as critical as what few things remain. Still, there is much to be heard by Aquarelle (the aural moniker of Ryan Potts) on 'Slow Circles.' Tempered with static and distortion, the five extended tracks hold an illusion of stasis sourced from dozens of layers of acoustic, electric, and electronic instruments. Filtered loops overlap and repeat, erecting a pattern that links pure minimalism to an oblique and layered pop approach that unfurls with acoustic guitar, bells, and bits of percussion.

Aquarelle's influences are teeming – and include various forms of photography, films by Terrence Malick, and the presence of family – but perhaps nothing inspires more than the ardor for sound itself, from hissing electronic abstraction to four-part vocal harmonies. 'Slow Circles' is his first widely available album after a handful of limited run CDR releases.

aquarellemusic@hotmail.com | myspace.com/aquarellemusic

Aquarelle - Everything Changes Into Itself by Rest + Noise

A debut is often a lesson in getting lost in the things you love. It is no surprise that some songs from Northern Howl's first full-length arrive with the melodic ease of the Shins, others in the shape of vintage Zombies tracks, a few with the orchestral scope of Sufjan Stevens. But each moment from 'All That's Under the Night's Sky' carries the exuberance of seven young people brimming with creativity and enthusiasm for music and the world surrounding them. A palpable atmosphere of rustic Minnesota is threaded through 'All That's Under the Night's Sky' - clinging to lyrics, sounds, and instruments Northern Howl employ to create their distinct brand of folk-derived pop. Aided by producer Kenyon Rosewall (The Wars of 1812), 'Night's Sky' contains an instrumental depth and prowess that outstrips their young age, naturally raising words like earnest, anthemic, and vibrant to relevance.

Yet, it is hard to say that Northern Howl set out to sound like such adjectives or approximate the above bands. Instead they chose to make sense of the world on their own terms, in turn locating influences in the adoration of everyday objects: the canvas of a tent, the faded sepia of old photographs, road trips with good friends, and large fauna distinct to their home state.

northern.howl.band@gmail.com | myspace.com/northernhowlband

Northern Howl - Algorithm by Rest + Noise