Moon Over Lake
Roddy Ellias
KWIMU Music KW-007 (roddyellias.bandcamp.com/album/moon-over-lake)
When inevitably transfixed and immersed in the sheer lushness that emanates from Roddy Ellias’ guitar, it is easy to forget you’re listening to a collection of songs, rather than one self-contained piece. When faced with such a dizzying array of odd pulses, phrases without clean endings, and several texturally rich sections where Ellias sounds like he has cloned himself, there can arise a temptation to overanalyze, attempting to grasp a firm hold of all that feels increasingly less tangible. To give into these urges keeps the listener at a distance, which stands at odds to the vulnerability of Ellias’ creative endeavour.
Short, imagery-laden track titles complement the spacious, meditative feeling of listening to multiple voices interacting within one instrument, punctuated by the occasional audible breath (such as the one in Flower) and chord that reverberates through a physical space. Hope deals in resonances, finding hidden melodies within its chordal elements while allowing the inner voices to color much of the mood, each sustained tone lingering as if to convey a sense of yearning. Chant rides an intricate groove through its entire runtime without belabouring it, but always implying it through blissful syncopated runs and occasionally reintroducing its titular refrain in fragments before the triumphant outro.
Nary a composition here overstays its welcome – the overall listen is quite brisk – but they are all intricate parts of a fulfilling, harmonious whole.
