Echo Mountain
At once poignantly austere and acutely observant Tyler Ramsey’s poetry gets right up into your personal space like a first date who watches you a little too closely. Inspired by his home in the misty mountains of western North Carolina A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea comes swathed in an ethereal post-coital magnificence that lingers even after the last note fades. Warm woody tones complement Ramsey’s nimble-fingered guitar runs and meditative lyricism as he intimates the details of his subconscious mind as on “Ships”: “When your dream is so entangled in another person’s dream / They might tie you up forever.”
Self-emancipated from the cultural cul-de-sac of Asheville N.C.’s Pabst-fuelled barrooms Ramsay uses his feathery-soft vocals and laidback sense of timing to entreat his listeners to stay on for just one more song. Artfully arranged yet roomy cuts like “Ships” and “Birdwings” demonstrate Ramsey’s true power — the ability to command attention without overpowering the gentle sentiment behind the music. Joy and misery keep close quarters on “Once in Your Life” “No One Goes Out” and “Please Stop Time” as this post-modern Taliesin deftly weaves his mysterious dew-jewelled web of country blues indie folk and lo-fi pop.
