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With Atlanta’s Manchester Orchestra riding high with almost universal praise for their latest album ‘The Million Masks of God’, it’s a good time for artists who are offering something a little different from the norm. Enter Seattle native Fences (the alter-ego of musician/songwriter Christopher Mansfield) with his latest EP ‘Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble’ and suddenly life just got a little bit more interesting.
Playing a heartfelt brand of indie-folk, Fences’ music is dark, reflective, and organic, and while not as dark as someone like Amigo The Devil, it still certainly packs a hefty punch, with ‘My Pale King’ being a real-stop-you-in-your-tracks moment. Five tracks in length, ‘Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble’ is the perfect end-of-night listening experience.
Opening track ‘Boot Height’ has a modern, throbbing bass tone running through it that mixes perfectly well with the warm, authentic, instrumentation that washes over the listener in waves. The vocals from Mansfield are smooth and lighter than air, and with the dreamy female backing vocals alongside them, it’s almost like the listener is floating. ‘Shape Shifter’ has a beautiful guitar tone running in the background, while Mansfield delivers a gorgeous vocal performance over an exceptional percussive-heavy track. Try as you might, it’s impossible to not tap your feet in time to the music. After ‘My Pale King’ leaves the listener on the floor, ‘The Folk and The Lore’ tucks a pillow under their head and lets them know that everything is going to be alright. More fantastic, subtle guitar tones on a slow-building track that gets better with each listen. Ending on the gentle pickings of ‘Fake Snow’, complete with more of those lush female backing vocals, ‘Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble’ is pretty damn special indeed.
Hed Kandi record label used to produce triple dance cd’s, with each disc being curated for a certain part of the evening (pre-club, at the club, come-down), if someone was to put a similar collection together for modern artists now, then Fences would provide the soundtrack for the come-down disc.
‘Wide Eyed Elk Ensemble’ is available now, more information, here.
Photo credit: Adam De Gross
