Apple's Acre by Nurses
LABEL: Dead Oceans  |||  RELEASE: August 4, 2009

Like another band from their Northwestern milieu, the Fleet Foxes, Nurses seem keen on re-excavating the musical dishabille of the past. But whereas the Foxes are content to channel CSN and After the Gold Rush-era Neil Young, this quirky Portland-based trio is a Theodore Roethke poem come to life. Throughout the record, they sing of a “Catepillar Playground” and similar matters in a mutedly hallucinogenic manner that may seem like a tangent off of early Grizzly Bear but is actually indebted to the burned out Beach Boys of Smiley Smile and Wild Honey. The Wilsonian elements are most prevalent throughout their latest effort, Apple’s Acre.

On “Bright Ideas”, drum machines (or very taut drumming), harpsichords, and the light orchestration of pianos and acoustic guitars coalesce to form a wall of sound that other groups are merely content to emulate… and wholly remarkable for a group that just discovered Garage Band very recently. The lush “Winter” and opening “Technicolor” break from this basic formula, interjecting a stark minimalism to the proceedings that demonstrates just how versatile this trio can be. With more popular siblings like Animal Collective now enjoying the fruits of mainstream success, it wouldn’t be surprising if a greater buzz developed around these lads sooner than later.

REVIEWED BY SEAN MURPHY
SEAN'S FAVORITE TRACKS: "Technicolor" • "Caterpillar Playgrounds" • "Bright Ideas"
Read more by Sean Murphy on his blog, Brooklyn Music