“Wheeling” by Big Bend

Back in 2007, I saw The Winston Jazz Routine perform at Cornerstone, after which I bought their Sospiri album. I never got around to reviewing it, but I always enjoyed the way in which bandleader Nathan Phillips filtered his breathy vocals and Sufjan-esque arrangements through dreamy post-rock atmospheres à la The Album Leaf.

Several years after the Routine’s dissolution, Phillips returned with a new band: the Ohio-based Big Bend, which has a new album titled Last Circle in a Slowdown dropping this week. Four of the album’s tracks are already available on Bandcamp, and though they clearly tap into the same vein as Sospiri, the production is richer and the arrangements more eclectic, recalling the likes of Talk Talk and Shearwater in both their beauty and experimental bent.

Opening track “Wheeling” is a prime example of this, as Phillips’ voice dips and dives over brushed drums, rolling piano melodies, and string arrangements. The song unfolds at an uncertain pace, occasionally sounding like it’s all going to crumble apart, only to reassemble in the loveliest and most assured manner.

Last Circle in a Slowdown will be released by Shimmy-Disc on September 13, 2024. Following the album’s release, Big Bend will perform several shows throughout October and November, including a Kansas City date with the also-excellent Namelessnumberheadman.