Greater Pacific

Greater Pacific is a new project featuring Kyle Kersten and John Phinney from Travel by Sea and their debut EP, Rainfall, is about the most aptly named record to come out in awhile. Every thing about this EP sounds like a soft rain shower – from the languid percussion, electronic effects, guitar and especially Kersten’s voice, a more liquid and less nasal cousin to Dean Wareham of Luna.

It’s the pedal steel of Phinney that proves this record’s defining instrumental piece, loaning something like the lazy beauty of Japancakes to a record of gentle country ambling. Floating through the high empty spaces of most of the songs, it defines the melody, becoming a second harmony vocal beneath back-up vocalist Angela Correa who adds her own touches to half of the EP’s tracks.

With nearly all of the songs falling in the three-minute range, and the EP’s 22 minute run time, it’s a short reminiscence of gray afternoons that never overstays its welcome. While all of the record moves at a similar pace, giving the EP a consistent feel, it never feels too much the same, finding enough subtle differences from track to track to make each song its own voice and experience. But it’s a rare EP that actually feels like a cohesive album all its own, and the gorgeous work of Greater Pacific is well worth repeated trips through its rainy days. words/ j neas

MP3: Greater Pacific :: Your History
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