The Microphones
The Glow, Pt 2

There are people who create dreams without even realizing it, who make music just to tell their stories, who are fortunate to be born in places where few news and advertisements arrive, in places where being introverted is almost normal, and where friendship becomes even more an unbreakable bond.
Phil Elvrum is one of these guys, and precisely thanks to all of this, he still manages to cradle like only a few others can. Phil has been part of various projects; he was among others the drummer for Old Time Relijun in the seminal “Uterus and Fire” (Olympia, the birthplace of Arrington De Dyoniso and Aron Hartman’s band is very close to our hero's hometown, Anarcotes); he was the sound engineer for the following album “Witchcraft Rebellion”, is part of the pop project D+ along with Beat Happening guitarist Bret Lunsford and has played with much of Olympia's “Roots” scene, but it is with his personal creation, Microphones (basically him with many friends and loved ones, even non-musicians, revolving around him!) that he has made a name for himself, if not from the true debut“Don’t Wake Me Up” in 1999 or the following albums “It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water” and “Windows” (both from 2000, the latter self-produced) which already contained the typical traits of his sound, namely lo-fi and powerful drum surges, undoubtedly from this “The Glow, Pt.2” truly monumental (in terms of length, twenty songs for seventy minutes) bedroom masterpiece.

I am indeed talking about Lo-fi, both for the uneven dimension of the beautiful songs and the craftsmanship of the sound; an acoustic sound both in tones and instruments, almost noise-like (but never chaotic) that gives the work the power of simplicity and immediacy.
The first two tracks, ”I Want Wind To Blow“ and “The Glow, Pt.2” would be enough to shout miracle (as indeed almost all magazines and webzines have done), where one moves from sweet acoustic themes to barrett-like codas, from imposing walls of drums to gentle and solemn organ melodies, where it is not novelty that amazes but pure beauty and simplicity. From the folk of "Headless Horseman" to the kraut "The Moon", from the waltz of "Map" to the blues of "The Gleam, Pt.2"  even to the distorted "I Want To Be Cold", everything stands perfectly without a hint of hesitation, the instruments engage in a straightforward and not too convoluted dialogue in little sketches that create an intimate atmosphere from which it is hard to detach.

There it is, intimate is the right word to define "The Glow, Pt.2", which allows us to discover what a simple guy can create thanks to his ideas alone.
The heir of Barrett (peace to his soul), but without madness…