Ecstasy Rhymes＜Colored Vinyl＞

The High Water Marks first album in over a decade shows that the pairing of Hilarie Sidney and Per Ole Bratset is still as strong as ever and the result is the bands best album to date. By far. In the past their winning mix of lo-fi Elephant 6 pop and fuzzy indie rock sometimes suffered from muddy recordings or songs that werent as punchy as they could be. No worries about either of those issues here, as the sound of Ecstasy Rhymes is clear and crisp with layers of strummed guitars, nimble bass, and gleefully bashed drums forming a safety net for the rambling lead guitars and the duos home-cooked vocals. It sounds like a stripped-down and almost punky take on the E6 style that Sidney helped invent as a founding member of the Apples in Stereo. Many of the songs here do share the rambunctious, gleefully hooky appeal of that bands early work, only with more bouncy energy and not a trace of murky psychedelia. Sidney and Bratset share the writing and singing duties, and while her songs are the zippiest, poppiest tracks and provide highlights like the loping Ode to Lieutenant Glahn, which kicks the album off with a memorable musical hook, the rippling rocker Can You, and the very 90s-sounding Satellite, Bratset holds up his half of the bargain. His songs are more spare and straightforward, his insistent, plaintive voice is the center of the low-key melodies and steady guitar work that surround him. His songs cover a bit more territory that Sidneys, ranging from soaring jangle rock on Annual Rings to low-key power pop (Ill Be Formal (With You Because of It)) and droning indie rock balladry (Accidentally on Purpose). Add in new bandmember Logan Millers multi-instrumental prowess and crack production job and the result is timeless guitar pop. If it had been released at the heyday of Elephant 6, fans of the label and sound might be talking about it in reverent tones. Ecstasy Rhymes was released in 2020, though, and the albums not only a blast from the past but also sounds completely fresh while showing just how powerfully enjoyable simple indie pop can be when played with this much energy and joy. ~ Tim Sendra