LOWERCASE NOISES

The Sweet Pea flower on the beautiful cover (by Terri Othling) is said to have first become popular in 17th century Italy, before being sent to England where it became hugely popular in Edwardian times. The symbolism behind this most sweet smelling fragrance is one of parting, of goodbyes, particularly the sad parting after a very happy time.

Andrew Othling puts this symbolism to precise musical form on this latest single released in April 2015. As always, not a vocal word is necessary. Over the course of just six minutes he begins so quietly with piano, very slow, letting each note linger. Violin and cello soon join in what feels very sad, tears and hugs of parting. Then in the middle as the song builds we feel the mood shift to happiness, remembering the good time, holding it close, treasuring it. Quite powerful and as is typical for him, quite cinematic in feel. At the end the hopeful strings die away and the lone piano marks finality, one has to let go. It's a shame the way many things end; love affairs, friendships, aspirations, even loved ones taken too soon. All of these lives and happy moments can be fleeting, a realization that gets more apparent the older we get. Don't lose your faith. Sweet Pea could be a short soundtrack to many a story of good things ended...a musical elegy not just for the dead, but for all of one's loss. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

"James" is the latest installment of a unique sub series of EPs that Andrew Rothling (the man behind Lowercase Noises) has created for each of his children. He composes and records the music during the pregnancy and then releases each album on the date of his child's birth, "James" being number four. If this sounds a little too sweet or sentimental for your tastes you should reconsider, each of the albums are actually quite good.

Othling handles the bulk of his releases via guitar and associated effects, creating slow and swelling ambient dreamscapes, full of emotion and peace. On this album he has added specials guests to bring a bit more "band" sound to some of the tracks, which feature drums, cello, and violin. "The First Glimmer of Wind" is a standout track here letting violin and cello have the lead rather than the usual guitar, giving it a slightly different feel. "Almost So Clear" brings acoustic guitar to the fore initially before swallowing it in the welling, again bringing some strings in. "The First Wink of Dawn" adds piano note repetitions to the fore before some light drums come in, very effecting at invoking morning optimism. The twenty four minutes drift by very quickly and the overwhelming feel is a life affirming sense of beauty and peace. Rarely does one get harshness or sadness from the music. Lowercase Noises work has always brought very positive "vibes" to this listener, soundtracks for introspection and relaxing listening. His philosophy is that guitar should be played slowly and 'less notes is more' essentially. In other words, like your Mom told you, slow down and taste your food rather than inhaling it.

As he has in the past Andy turned to artist Terri Othling for the beautiful cover art. I urge post rock fans to check out Lowercase Noises for what is now an impressive body of ambient post-rock work.

Lowercase Noises is the working vehicle of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Othling, based in New Mexico USA. Andrew is here at PA under the post-rock genre but his work shifts from post-rock to ambient/drone/minimalist to instrumental music. He's an enormously talented fellow and this was his second full length album after the beautiful debut "Seafront."

Othling has grown and blossomed as a musician/composer over the past four years and has stated that he is beginning to view himself more as a composer than a guitarist. While this is exciting news based on the success of his most recent and acclaimed album "This is for our Sins", it is also a bit disappointing to me in a selfish sense. Because Othling is a superb guitarist and there is that side of me that just wants him to forever paint away over his pedals and guitar, improvising and creating the landscapes that first drew me in. But alas, he has moved on to bigger and better things and the new album was fantastic.

"When I started playing guitar, I wanted to be a blues player. At some point I just got tired of so many notes. I became happier with fewer notes. And so it went. Every now and again I get into a conversation where people seem to be trying to convince me to play more like I used to. And I always have a hard time explaining that yes, I do still enjoy playing like that to a degree, but my heart is in those slow, heartfelt melodies and those parts that you wouldn't know how much they added until they weren't there. Ambient music runs a high likelihood of being incredibly boring. A lot of artists seem to run with the slow, repetitive melody a little too far. Yes, it is relatively easy to write a melody like that. The hard part is developing it into something that evolves, gets interesting, and somehow stays simple at the same time. Subtlety is the key really, and subtlety in music is something that's really hard to achieve." -an excerpt from Andrew's blog

"Ambient Songs" remains perhaps the deepest treasure chest for the Lowercase fans who appreciate most the ambient guitarist inside of Othling. This is the goods. Approximately 145 minutes of instrumental guitar music recorded in one take, no edits, no overdubs, nothing but guitar and effects. Wave upon wave of rolling moods and emotions wash over you, slowly, softly, with no distraction. No vocals or other instruments. This is music to pull the shades for, music to relax to, or perhaps music to take on a long walk with your earbuds. Andrew's thoughtful playing is as always to this listener, very moving, a catalyst for my own emotions and thoughts to swirl in as I ponder and let them go. Individual notes and patterns repeat with slight variation as Eno might do on piano, the background shaded with numerous interesting guitar effects. As Othling alludes to in the quote above, evolution is the important component in this kind of music. It's a clear strength of his that he is able to keep things consistently interesting to me, someone who is not a particularly huge fan of this genre. That said, this may not be the best starting point in the Lowercase discog for most people. If you love long, slow, ambient tracks, then yes. But if you want to start with something a bit more active and conventional in terms of album structure, try his latest "This is for our Sins."

I don't believe this album is available on physical formats like some of his others, but you can get a high quality download from his website. Over two hours of pure blissful drift for those who enjoy this solitaire kind of instrumental music.

Lowercase Noises' single "Skylights" was made to accompany Knate Myers Photography's timelapse video of the same name. The video is an amazing piece of work you should take time to view on YouTube. It consists of 6000 high rez photographs of the night skies taken in the remoteness of New Mexico's VLA. When pieced together the photos appear like a video showing movement. With little light and air pollution at this location the brilliance of the sky is overwhelming. He would often stay up all night long at these locations documenting the skies. The song written as the soundtrack for this short video captures perfectly the images it is there to set off. Othling's guitar leads are slow and dreamy, the beautiful melodic arcs conveying exploration, travel, and a longing to be somewhere else physically. The drumming is simple but effective. Coming and going they lends a bit of a "marching" feel, an adventurous spirit. While the track is available at Lowercase's bandcamp, this is really one you must experience with the video. So search for it at YT or Vimeo and enjoy both images and music. It will only take 5 minutes of your life and you'll never see a more lovely presentation of God's creation. I have returned to the video often to lift my spirits and I hope someday there is a longer collaboration between these two super artists.

Lowercase Noises is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Othling who hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has become one of the premier post-rock/ambient/instrumental artists out there, and if you are a fan of these genres who has not yet heard his music, you are missing the boat. Othling seems to prefer to let his music do the talking for him, but has dropped a few hints about his EP "Passage" calling it "an album about transition" and stating that it was about a specific place on planet Earth. Some fans have wagered guesses about where but I'm not sure Othling has confirmed their guesses. It doesn't much matter to me for as usual his music takes me many places far and wide.

"Passage" indeed does seem a transition from the blue moving ambiance of "Migratory Patterns" to the somewhat (but not very) conventional storytelling genius of "This is for our sins" released just this year. You can hear the banjo and cello stepping forward and sharing more time with the guitar, a sound choice that increases on the latest "Sins" album. In fact, similarities in the sound and artwork almost make "Passage" feel like the songwriting warm-up for "This is for our sins." The metaphor of passage or travel is taking place as an album theme but also speaks to Othling's continual growth as an artist. While he once primarily made sound with his guitar and myriad effects, he is now reaching for all sorts of new colors without losing the relaxing flow of his music. Yes, there is banjo on this album but it still is instantly recognizable as Andrew. The album's five songs are all beautiful, relaxing tracks that pull you in and lower your heart rate. You are soon immersed in the weaving of shimmering guitar, light piano, occasional dramatic drums, and moving cello swells. There is such a mixture of joy and melancholy to his songs, an ability to delivery serenity in a way that is interesting rather than sleep inducing.

The album, like several of his offerings, was made available in limited vinyl release with incredible packaging and art. This is a guy who understands the new frontiers and realities of music fandom and he overseas the creation of quite special releases. It may be small fry compared to the distribution models of the past, but for those who discover an artist like this, the rewards for both are huge. The fans get product that is very special, sometimes even hand made, while the artists enjoys a more intimate connection to the fan base.

"Blake" is the third installment of Andrew Othling's "in utero" series whereby he creates a work of music inspired by, and in honor of, his arriving children. Each is named after the child and features a very personal cover photo like this one. Lowercase Noises is his musical outlet but for the most part it is a one-man show.

Othling has two main styles based on the albums I've heard. The first is more typically post-rock in that there is recognizable structure/format and the emotional soaring/melodies I think of with post-rock, his latest album "This is for our sins" would be an example of that. The second is the ambient, quiet, Eno like album. "Blake falls into this second type of Lowercase experience. Slow, soft, quiet interludes come in wave after wave, putting the listening in a very relaxed state. The songs are built around quiet and contemplative guitar notes/chords delivered one by one and allowed to shimmer, to ripple away.

Behind the shimmering guitar you will hear occasional lilting piano lines and a bit of complimentary cello that works really well. The entire album move in this manner allowing one to really sink into it without distraction, save one sweet moment where the voices of children appear in one song. All of these albums are such beautiful and unique expressions of love from a young father to his future children. As I listen I am thinking about that inspiration and how it is informing the songwriting and my only conclusion is that you are hearing pure love emanating through your speakers. Simple as that. If that all sounds a little too precious for your tastes, don't write it off so quickly. There are no lyrics here so the presentation is really not sentimental or sappy.

"Blake" and all of Lowercase's discog can be streamed at their page. If you love post-rock or ambient instrumental music in the guitar realm, you'd be wise to check it out.

Every time another quality work is released by Lowercase Noises I am amazed anew that this artist has not caught on at ProgArchives. This album is yet another winner that is available for a test drive on Bandcamp, so hopefully more of our reviewers will give it a fair chance.

Lowercase Noises is the musical project of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Othling who hails from Albuquerque, NM. Andrew is building quite the respectable catalog of beautiful and accomplished post-rock/instrumental (primarily) prog albums and this one is no exception. What made this album particularly compelling is the interesting true story that inspires it. It's about a Russian family who fled the Bolshevik's religious persecution. After one of their family members was shot, they fled into the wilderness and kept going, deeper and deeper. They ended up completely off-the-grid, living in total isolation from human contact from the 1930s into the 1970s. They had no knowledge of world war 2. They were discovered by researchers who documented their family's amazing story. They were in a part of Siberia so remote that even Russian military never went in that zone. Most of the family have since passed away, but one of the children born in 1943 continues to live in her family's hidden homestead to this very day!

"This album follows the story of the Lykov family, who lived isolated in the Russian wilderness for over 40 years before their discovery by geologists in 1978. Agafia, born in the wilderness in 1943, is the last remaining member of the family. She continues to live in the harsh Siberian landscape to this day." -Liner notes

Othling himself seems inspired by the story as well, creating some of his most elaborate arrangements and pushing further with the colorful elements he employs alongside his guitar. Some of his albums are more to the ambient side but on Sins he has included more vocals and guests musicians. The album opens with lovely choral vocals, there are cellos, percussion, even banjos! Of course it soars with lots of emotional welling and release, building up into great volume before easing into quieter sections led by piano or cello. But great care is taken to make the melody and force of each track match the chapter of the story. The story is not told in the traditional lyrical method but by the music. Thus one has to read a bit about the family's story and then the song titles and the music make sense. "Silence of Siberia" is a slow piano meditation that would fit onto an Eno album. "The Hungry Years" introduces the banjo which works surprisingly well in his style, imparting the rural challenged of the family's struggle against the elements, as well as the rustic beauty.

The banjo returns many times throughout the album while Othling uses his guitar up against it, the two instruments perhaps representing the family's emotions versus the curiosities of the outside visitors and the world. While Othling is usually more than capable of expression with his guitar alone, telling this human story required the use of vocalists and they are so on the mark, just gorgeous solo singing and harmonies lift several tracks into the stratosphere. Jenny Thomas I believe is the main soloist and she is incredible here. The overall effect of the music just breaks down your walls and takes you into the world of these people in a way that written word cannot. You must read the story first which you can find by googling the article below. Once you do, this music will blow your mind. I've never been a huge fan of post-rock in general and I'm certainly no expert as to where this music fits into the genre against its contemporaries, but I do know that this guy is a compelling musician whose compositions have always moved me.

"The daughters spoke a language distorted by a lifetime of isolation. "When the sisters talked to each other, it sounded like a slow, blurred cooing"..... All that Agafia and Dmitry knew of the outside world they learned entirely from their parents' stories. The family's principal entertainment was for everyone to recount their dreams..... Agafia's unusual speech---she had a singsong voice and stretched simple words into polysyllables---convinced some of her visitors she was slow-witted; in fact she was markedly intelligent. She thought nothing of hard work, either, excavating a new cellar by hand late in the fall. Asked whether she was not frightened to be out alone in the wilderness after dark, she replied: "What would there be out here to hurt me?"...... Perhaps the saddest aspect of the Lykovs' story was the rapidity with which the family went into decline after they re-established contact with the outside world. In the fall of 1981, three of the four children followed their mother to the grave within a few days of one another."

-A few excerpted sentences from a great Smithsonian article by Mike Dash. (Just google Lykov, Mike Dash, and Smithsonian, and it should pop up the article for you)

The album is available as a limited edition red-vinyl double album, a lovely presentation for enthusiasts. It is also available via download for Lowercase Noises' site. Find them on Bandcamp and sample many of their fine releases.

Andy Othling is a prolific and hugely talented guitarist based in Albuquerque New Mexico. His music can be described as ambient guitar exploration in the post-rock realm. "Vivian" is the second album he has written to his children in utero, then released at the time of their birth. These are not simply sentimental musings from father to daughter however. "Vivian" is an accomplished and lovely piece of work.

Released in September 2011, Othling handles all guitar, keyboards, and effects. The only assistance comes from cellist Shannon Harden. "Vivian" is a short album (EP length really) that is thoughtful, contemplative, and relaxing. In his bio Andy claims to be interested in "playing the guitar as slow as possible." However this does not mean it is boring music to listen to. The tracks drip with color and emotion-layered, clear guitars wash over you with their evolving melodies and mysteries. Frequently one guitar will be slowly picking at a chord sequence (or two) and evolving quite subtly as the minutes unfold, while another guitar part (or two) will be playing beautiful leads over the top. He's just so attentive to tone, timing, and development.

Supportive keyboards or samples fill in the backgrounds but the focus is always the guitar playing which is just superb. This is music which carries you away in thought or daydream. I find it a great aid to my own writing projects or for simply blurring the edges of a vicious world and healing in a cocoon of peaceful sound. Shannon Harden is a frequent collaborator on the albums of Lowercase Noises and her cello playing is so complimentary. Its organic, tactile qualities further infuse the music with special powers if you will-that may sound a bit silly but if you doubt me give this music a try. All of the albums can be sampled on Bandcamp and I bet many of you who love great guitar work will love it, provided you can slow down your mind and shut off your need for drums and rock and roll.

Othling has given us much lovely music in the last few years but he has given his children the greatest gift of all. Someday they will have a personalized expression of their father's feelings for them at the time of their birth. That is pretty cool. The beautiful cover photograph was taken by Arielei Kinzer.

The most recent project from one-man band Andrew Othling is the loosely conceptual work 'Migratory Patterns.' The subject of the album is as haunting as it is fascinating, and it's a true story. Scientists have discovered the existence of a single lone whale, species unknown, calling out at regular intervals and going unanswered as it travels the deep alone. Since 1992 the animal has been calling out at 52-hertz and moving in patterns unrelated to other whales. There is much speculation as to why this creature is alone and going unanswered...could be the last of his species, could be deformed and thus 'speaking' incorrectly, or simply too far from the typical range of other whales to be understood. Whatever the reason his calls have gone unanswered for as long as the Navy continued to monitor them.

Othling has used this strange story as the perfect base for a musical project that actually incorporates the recorded call of the '52-hertz' whale as it is known to researchers. He describes the new work as a 'sort of soft-electronica sound coupled with somewhat darker melodies, making it Lowercase Noises' most contemplative album yet.' It has a noticeably different feel than the excellent preceding work 'Carry Us All Away' which was colorful and occasionally rocking. Here the style is toned way down to a slower and peaceful current that captures the oddly claustrophobic feel of the deep underwater universe. Single piano notes ring out across spacious keyboard textures in 'Song for No One.' The Eno ambient feel continues with the repeating patterns of 'Persistence' suggesting how it might feel to continually call out where you are alone. As the album moves along beats are introduced and Andrew's layered guitars build density, occasionally supported again by the gorgeous cello work of Shannon Harden. She takes 'Depths' to another level of beauty, the piece drones on with an ache that is palpable. On the closer 'Farewell' Othling couples his guitar with some pretty fair banjo playing, unusual I'm sure for the post-rock genre but it is effective here. While the work clocks at 33 minutes (longer than some classic RPI!) and feels complete enough to me to call 'an album', Othling calls it an EP so that is where we have placed it.

'Migratory Patterns' is a fascinating and successful piece of work which ties a great subject to music that tells the story almost completely without vocals. You are carried by this music as if you are following the lonely creature. I really like the weathered looking cover that reminds of some educational audio recording from the 60s or 70s, another in a series of fine album cover selections. You can purchase a high quality download of the album for only $3 at his website. (You can also stream the albums of Lowercase Noises, but I would suggest buying the two CD package which gives you Seafront and Carry Us. I have these and the artwork is great to have.)

While the early work of Lowercase Noises was promising and enjoyable, Andrew Othling's one-man band takes a huge step forward with the amazing "Carry Us All Away" for which I read one experienced post-rock blogger call the best release of 2010. I'm not knowledgeable enough about post-rock to make such a claim but I know a great album when I hear one. Othling hails from Albuquerque and handles all instruments and production on his own, with the exception of specials guests here and there. With this album he incurred significant costs in an attempt to push his work to the next level and the results show it.

While Othling excels at times in ambient and drone textures "Carry Us" is really not like that. This being the album that initially sucked me in, I was blown away at the amount of color, melody, and animation present here. When boiled down, these are simply great majestic rock songs sans vocals. A larger drum presence is brought into this one to propel the amazingly pastel guitar work of Othling and the equally beautiful cello of Shannon Harden, whose presence is far greater here, she plays on seven tracks this time out. While pieces have sections of serene pools they will often evolve into large, lumbering waves of exhilaration...nice walls of bass/drums/guitar in energetic fashion break the sections of introspection. Above all the mood and emotion remain balanced between a longing melancholy and hope. In the softer parts Othling's guitar again leads the way over the sparse keyboards, clean and intuitive to your melodic sense, colorful as mentioned, he is a wonderfully original player. He even brings in some banjo along with the cello background to further expand the sound. Lead vocals occur on only one track, and recorded spoken word audio is much less prevalent than on "Seafront." Start to finish this release is just a lovely example of post-rock coming out of its comfort zone to somewhere more engaging. It's also the perfect soundtrack for watching a sunrise or sunset.

This is the clear starting point for those who wish to discover this amazing artist. The album is available via CD or download at a very modest price, so please check out his website for details. The CD is worth the price for the glorious artwork of Terri Othling, the cover painting spreads out over all four panels of the digipak sleeve. One of the finest independent releases of 2010 also features one of the best album covers of the year, one which perfectly conveys the music you will find within.