BCMC

On Stash, the absolutely energy-drenched 2nd album from BCMC, the guitar and keys duo soars through waves of pleasant rhythmic turbulence on the way to show us just what they got: Needle down: increased activity dubs and baubles the sonic surface of BCMC’s Stash planet. Waves from Arabian, Indian, Flamenco and Soul groove in alliance under the expanse of an all-world flag, representing a borderless pursuit of cosmic music moments in the hand, of/by/for all the people of folk, rock and jazz, psych, west coast psych, prog, DIY, experimental, traditional, programmatic, impressionistic, liturgic, electric...! 

Maybe it’s in the DNA between Cooper Crain on organ & synth and Bill MacKay on guitar? BCMC’s groove-based understanding/space-based alignment of purpose is two-headed (four-handed) intuition in music, aurally forming whenever playing, composing, improvising, or all the above. Stash is part guitar and keyboard recital, part unbridled electroacoustic assembly of spontaneous international deep and wide sounds. Happening between them, somehow. Like the time: guitar and keyboard pushing, then pulling back in space. The sound of two people agreeing on this. Patterns emerge, units form, and then, we feel BCMC alive in the wide-open air of the room.

Also in Stash: written things, shorter strands, riffs, prog/funk/church organ breaks, psychedelic blues-rock soloing on synth. Echoes of Floyd/Doors/Deep Purple/Iron Butterfly/Velvets/Can wove into a jangly nest, then trembled with an occasional British folk peregrination. Insistent chord/rhythm discovery: jam it out. Having taped, take a second pass in places. Improvisation, layers, inner-player dialogues revolve the flow, open it up.

Drop the needle down into Stash anywhere. You find one sonic widescreen or another in time. Vivid, judiciously-tripped minimalist songs; tropical soundtrack capacity and time, horizons and water flown in from the border, fine frontier and mellow high. Stash was recorded on half-inch 8-track tape by Greg Norman at Electrical Audio, then recorded more and mixed to half-track 2-inch at Sweat Loge by Cooper and Bill. Stash’s different textural feel is down to wondering about, then dialing details in the sound, getting good signal in a few good spaces with a few new (old) machines in the chain. And in the mix, not a digital module was stirring: Stash is straight AAA, student!