Joseph McNulty – Trail Running (Roll Over Rover, 2010)

November 15, 2010


Joseph McNultyI’m So Scared

 
Joseph McNulty is the same dude that had the insanely gorgeous debut The Earth, In Veins tape on SRA. Now he’s got another tape of blissy drones, this time on Roll Over Rover, and I’m pretty sure that means it’s official. McNulty is the fucking coolest.

Trail Running is a little different from his first tape in that instead of going 200% ethereal beauty, he mixed it up with some sound samples of people talking about weird shit like sports games, kids who don’t like coconuts, and FDR’s “Fear” speech. Also, Sean McCann (ROR honcho) lends a hand on a couple tracks and it’s a pretty sweet addition to McNulty’s style.

This is some seriously skyward stuff. Guitars & keyboards turn into mist and swirl around, being carried by the slightest gusts of wind. Hazy tones ease their way through cassette hiss & warble while celestial shimmer rains over everything. This is outstandingly euphoric drone that’s endlessly enchanting.

One of my favorite Eluvium songs is “As I Drift Off” from When I Live By The Garden And The Sea, partially because it uses a sample of Tom Hanks in The ‘Burbs. This whole tape reminds me of that song, the way the samples mix with the subtle drones. It’s so perfect. You definitely need to pick this tape up. It’s almost a given, especially because it’s 50 minutes for $6 and there’s only 100 of ’em made.

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