The Blithe Sons, The Great Orthochromatic Wheel (side A)

The Great Orthochromatic Wheel is a 2008 album from this avant-folk duo, part of San Francisco's Jewelled Antler Collective. The tracks are floaty and ethereal with acoustic guitars and a generally folk-y feel. Vocals blend into the compositions and never stand out as songs or melodies. There's not much low-end on the record, except for an occasional tom that juts out rhythmically. The haze of the sound is achieved more through density and a lo-fi feel that lacks transients, rather than a wash of electronic reverb. The blurry cover photo of a field fits the music perfectly. The liner notes claim that one of the tracks borrows from an old Genesis song on Trespass, but I was fooled.