South

Description

The self-titled debut album by the band South (now named South 1998) represents one of Jagjaguwar's closest forays into the world of ECM Records. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, the band combines complex and refined guitar chords reminiscent of Pat Metheny, repetitive structures inspired by Steve Reich, as well as associations of hammered dulcimer and vibraphone. The muted and assured voices of Patrick Phelan and Nathan Lambdin are supported by the steady rhythms of drummer Tod Parkhill. Described at its release as an exegesis of the great moments of 20th-century ambient rock, this album retains all its richness today. Its re-listening evokes both the current experimental scene (ML Buch, Escho, Chanel Beads, Hubro) and its contemporaries from that time such as Tortoise, Bark Psychosis, or The Sea and Cake. Renamed for search engine optimization reasons, this classic from the catalog is now being reissued on vinyl for the very first time as part of the label's thirtieth anniversary.