Last year Blake Cowan released a hushed album called The Crow Mother. Consisting mainly of Cowan and his acoustic guitar, he captured a moment in time where he sought to escape from the word by heading to Mt. Rainier with a trailer in tow. The album was a low key affair for sure, but it sank deep given time, and if anything, Cowan successfully captured a moment in time that was something close to pure isolation. You’d hear the world off in the distance, sure, but when the rain drops were pattering against the roof of his trailer on “Indian Blankets” you could envision a young man all alone with his thoughts and nothing more.
Cowan will release another record this year, this time in the form of an EP. The Westering continues on from where The Crow Mother left off and stylistically it’s much the same. The first track to be released from the EP is on called “The Hollow,” which we here at Beats Per Minute are extremely pleased to be premièring. Wrapped in Cowan’s familiar outside field records, the tracks leads you on, and although when we followed Cowan before it lead us to a lonely (but content) place, there’s little hesitation in taking his lead once more. And in just under five minutes, Cowan takes you on a small journey with his reverberated voice and guitars, all ghostly and sad that can’t decide if they want company or to be left alone. Whichever one is sought, it’s still enamouring to hear him trying to choose. Listen to “The Hollow” below, and look out for The Westering which will be self-released on the 26th March.
