Album Details

• Album: Self-Titled
• Label: Sao Bento Music
• Year of Release: 2006
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: Andy Polhamus on 2007-02-11
• Viewed: 308 times

Possible Selves are what Mogwai would sound like if they went acoustic and sang a little more. There's little else to say about them, and this is very much a good thing. The band consists of a lonely musician, one Neal Williams, who holds it down on guitar, bass, banjo, harp, drums and percussion, melodica, bells, violin, harmonica, synths, recorder, saxophone, clarinet, vocals, and finally, accordian. Alright, I lied. There is more to say about them. The instrumentation on this album is vast, but unlike that of say, Architecture in Helsinki or Sufjan Stevens, incredibly low key. The variety of sounds serve to set moods and accent points rather than carry riffs or melodies, and Williams' vocals sound like that of a wise, sad old man, beatifully matching the album's country feel. The songs are folky, yet beautifully spacy and serene. For every Mogwai-esque slow jam, there's a poppy, but nonetheless contemplative counterpart. Recommended tracks that give you the most accurate representation of the album include "I Don't Need No Doctors," "Are You Sleepy?," "Lights in Our Bodies," and "The Stare." But the truth is, every song has its moments. This would be a great record for long drives, except that you'd probably become so immersed in your unpretentious shoegazing that you would undoubtedly crash and die a horrible, bloody death. And if your death is anything like Neal Williams would imagine it, the music would continue to play, and as your face shattered the windshield, your last thought would be, "Isn't this nice?"

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