by Jonathan Bannister (@j_utah)
Sometimes words fail us. For all the good they do, some feelings can’t be conveyed by speaking. Some angst can’t be expressed with consonants and vowels even when they’re in the proper order. Travis Trevisan knows something about this. As part of Tape Deck Mountain, Trevisan has used words to express many things. But after the recent presidential election he found them ill-suited to express what he was feeling. Words were coming up short. While ranting and raving might feel good in the moment, even that wasn’t helping.
“I was numb and at a loss of words. I took a break from the Facebook ranting and raving. I decided to hug it out for a moment with SLUG.”
SLUG is Trevisan’s new solo album and we’re happy to premiere the first track from that album, "Slow Fade". While Trevisan is no stranger to noise, SLUG finds him spending time with ambient folk soundscapes. Gone is the wall of reverb and instead filtered loops build on each other. It’s a quieter, more contemplative listen and one that would seem antithetical to what inspired it.
"Slow Fade" is just that. It creeps in like dawn revealing a new day, the first signs of awakening. A guitar begins to strum while Trevisan’s voice filters in like a choral hum, ohhing and awwing through the manipulated haze. It settles into a groove and hangs out, cleansing the unsettled mind and focusing one into its sound. It’s a track that centers the listener and brings them back from the frayed brink. And just like that it’s gone. A floating feeling of fresh beginning, and the promise of a new day remains behind.
The album will be out Monday, January 30, 2017 via Land Animal Tapes and Ninteen98 on tape and CD. Catch Trevisan in San Diego on February 6, 2017 with Lilys and Dead Heavens at Soda Bar.