Precipice: A situation of great peril; a steep or overhanging place.
An EP full of songs that feel like they're on edge of something. It could be the tension, anxiety and confusion that came from the 2020-2021 writing period of these songs. It could be the fork in the road feeling, the end of certain chapters of life, that moment before turning the page.
As a belated to follow-up to 2022's Ephemera EP (a spiritual sibling/ companion piece), Hanford Reach's Precipice EP is the product of a continued push of the songwriting process into different and unfamiliar areas, incorporating new elements, textures and moods. The songs were all mostly developed from demo takes of rhythms, be it drums parts, or percussive synth patterns, then layered and meticulously (some may say obsessively) developed further, building and rebuilding over those foundations.
We hear vocoders and 808's living side-by-side with vintage delay boxes and a Mellotron, a juxtaposition of sounds woven together, pulling from influences as diverse as Maggie Rogers to Pink Floyd to Nine Inch Nails. Forward motion, blurry scenes, pictures developing outside the window.
First single "Endless Eyes" is a surreal psychedelic disco, while "Echo Park", initially released in June 2023, is a caffeinated slab of psych pop, filtered through an introspective mind. "Undercurrents" is a mellow reflection that would fit in quite well with mid-period Pink Floyd, if they were overcome by a swarm of synthesizers.
credits
released October 6, 2023
Written, produced, mixed and performed by Chris Sherman
Except:
Bass and bass synthesizers on "Undercurrents" by Leah Cinnamon
Mellotron and Moog on "the Gadget" by Andy Plovnick
Additional production and engineering on "the Gadget" by Andy Plovnick and Henry Soults at the Bunker Studio, Brooklyn
Recorded at home at various points between June 2021 and July 2023, except for "the Gadget" Bunker session, April 2023.
Tracks 1 through 3 mastered by Colin Bryson, Tracks 4 and 5 mastered by Alex DeTurk at the Bunker
Next-level psych pop.
Something like a rhythm section that grew up on punk but geeks out on Rush, while having access to a stacked pedalboard and classic synths inspired by binging on 80's pop tunes.
Precipice EP due October 2023.
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