Space Homestead

by Ee, MV, MV & EE

Overview

Given the thoroughly extensive back catalog that MV & EE had created by the time of Space Homestead's release, it'd be bold to single out the 2012 album as a head-and-shoulders-above highlight on first blush. But in many ways, from the excellent title on down, Space Homestead functions as a perfect summary of the aesthetic that has driven the duo: a simultaneous embrace of zoned-out meditation and easygoing roots explorations that is never quite one or the other in full. It's not that long-noted touchstones such as the Grateful Dead, the Velvet Underground, and the Band, among many others, can't still be applied, but there's an easy deftness to the album's nine songs that results in a unified and remarkable listen, from the gentle drone-tinged serenity of the opening "Heart Like Barbara Steele" to the concluding "Porchlight > Leaves," a collage of soloing, percussion, and singing that feels like the after-impact of what's come before. In between, it's a series of strong highlights, with EE first taking the lead on the extended backwoods trip of "Workingman's Smile." MV retains the majority of the lead vocal performances throughout, but sometimes it's EE's perfect interjections as a balance, as on "Sweet Sure Gone" and "Wasteland," which turn strong performances into something really remarkable. The most "normal" performances, like "Shit's Creek," still have a buzzing, otherworldly weirdness even amid harmonica, acoustic guitar, and singing, while the blasting fried solo that wraps up "Too Far to See," the first of three long performances that conclude the album, shows that the unsettled noise which underscores even some of their most serene work never, ever quite removes itself. It could almost be a summary of their approach rather than taking their work to the next level, but Space Homestead succeeds precisely because MV & EE have so clearly constructed their particular vision. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	05/15/2012
Label:	Woodsist
UPC:	0655035019925
Rank:	161174

Tracks

1. Heart Like Barbara Steele
2. Wokingman's Smile
3. Sweet Sure Gone
4. Shit's Creek
5. Common Ground
6. Moment
7. Too Far To See
8. Wasteland
9. Porchlight>Leaves

Album Credits

Performance Credits

MV & EE   Primary Artist
MV   Primary Artist
Ee   Primary Artist
Jeremy Earl   Tambourine,Lap Steel Guitar,Clapping,Drums,Vocals
Asa Irons   Bass
Coot Moon   Bass,Drums
Doc Dunn   Pedal Steel
Zuma   Bells
Matt Lajoie   Bass,Vocals
Muskox   Bass
Carson Arnold   Drums,Percussion,Electronics
Matt Iajole   Bass,Vocals
Paulie G   Flute
Rafi Bookstaber   Harmonica,Percussion
Rangoose   Bass
Rongoose   Bass
Willie Lane   Guitar
J Mascis   Drums
Mick Flower   Guitar
Erika Elder   Spoons,Vocals,Electric Jug,Lap Steel Guitar,Electronic Mandolin
Matt Valentine   Bass,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Pedal Steel,Lap Steel Guitar
John Moloney   Drums

Technical Credits

MV & EE   Composer
Coot Moon   Design,Artwork,Engineer
Josh Bonati   Mastering
Mike Smith   Engineer
Cocola   Design,Artwork
James Anderson   Engineer
Jenny McGee Dougherty   Cover Lettering
Paulie G   Engineer
Erika Elder   Composer
Mick Flower   Continuity,Inspiration
Jarvis Taveniere   Engineer,Additional Production
Justin Pizzoferrato   Engineer
Matt Valentine   Composer,Producer