Once in a blue moon, an instrumental ensemble can emerge with a sound that is equally supportive of their influences and wholly original in their art. The Austin, Texas based band Balmorhea (pronounced Bal-Mor-Ay) are one such band. The ensemble easily blends chamber music, folk and ambient textures, often times in the length of one song. On March 10, 2009, the band released their third full-length album entitled All is Wild, All is Silent on Western Vinyl Records.
Balmorhea formed in 2006 by Guitarist/Pianist Rob Lowe and Guitarist/Pianist/Banjoist Michael Muller. The duo wrote and recorded their self-titled album in April 2007, before following up with their second album Rivers Arms in February 2008. With the release of All is Wild, All is Silent, the group expanded their instrumentation to include violinist Aisha Burns, cellist Nicole Kern and double bassist Travis Chapman.
With All is Wild, All is Silent, the group’s juxtaposition of their influences is fully realized. Perfectly incorporating both old and new, the nine tracks that make up the album pack the punch of love lost and the road ahead. Beginning with the album’s opening song “Settler,” the group begins the album with the brawn of Born to Run and the narrative thread of Lou Reed's Transformers, utilizing a different texture on every track, but allowing a thread of experimentalism to gently carry the record.
The album quickly gains momentum with the third song “Harm and Boon,” a song that uniformly blends a minimalistic atmosphere with post-rock robustness, evoking a dream scenario where guitarist Guy Picciotto of Fugazi was the frontman of Steve Reich and Musicians. The fourth song "Elegy" carries a familiar sense of heartbreak and longing but gives the listener hope that nothing is lost and everything is yours if you want it.
The standout track on the album is “Coahuila,” a gentle mixture of acoustic guitars, soft drums, mellow strings and wordless vocals that climax to a sparse echo of violins and voices. The song appears towards the end of the album and draws upon the power of "Settler" while establishing new moods that haven't appeared on the record up until that point. The album’s closing number “November 1, 1832” ends an album that is both potent in its arrangements and compelling in its execution, allowing the listenener to gently drift off into an upcoming thought.
Since its release, the group has been getting considerable praise and acclaim from the media, which is aided by the group’s increasing tour schedule. This past June, they set forth on a national tour with a stop at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan. With their current standpoint on popular music, Balmorhea is poised to be at the vanguard of contemporary music in the decade to come.
For more information on Balmorhea, please visit their official website at www.balmorheamusic.com and their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/balmorhea.
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