Fulton Lights' Healing Waters EP
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In the ongoing, lopsided battle between Washington, D.C.'s and New York City’s respective music scenes (a battle the latter isn't even aware exists), the District has recently won a rare victory: Earlier this summer, Brooklyn’s Andrew Spencer Goldman—the mastermind behind one-man-band Fulton Lights—relocated to the D.C. area for law school. Goldman, a D.C.-area native, had spent the past seven years in Brooklyn making music under various names (Maestro Echoplex, John Guilt) and with artists from The Hold Steady, Dalek, and Wilco. After originally leaving the D.C. scene for New York in 2002, Goldman now returns with a peace offering: the latest Fulton Lights EP, Healing Waters, released last month on Catbird Records.
Imagine if Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock produced a few songs on Beck’s Sea Change and then Tom Waits and Brian Eno stepped in to add some texture—and it all worked. Healing Waters is a six-song landscape of ambience, hollow spaces, and ghostly vocals. (Plus a cover of David Byrne’s “Glass, Concrete And Stone.”) The feedback-heavy opener, “Healing Waters,” is the most ambitious track on the album, with declarative chords, distorted vocals, and a soaring chorus; the rest of the album floats by on spare guitars and airy hooks. Hell, Goldman even gets away with slipping into conversational French on the ending track, “Borrowed Guitars.”
The past two Fulton Lights albums reflected heavily on New York City over hip-hop beats, violins, and a slew of other instruments. Goldman used to be angrier—which is usually review-speak for an artist who has lost his or her edge, but in his case, he seems to have gained perspective and focused on all his strengths. He avoids the mistakes of his previous albums: The themes for Healing Waters aren’t as heavy or sentimental—except for maybe the sad-sack titled “Bleeding Myself” (I’ve got the feeling again / there’ll be nothing left of me when I’m through). But it’s so pretty that you forget he’s talking about the draining agony of dysfunctional relationships.
Healing Waters is an honest and not-so-meticulously refined effort. That's not to say that the album is stripped down or raw, but that Goldman has found the confidence to let his work breathe a little. It ends up feeling more resonant. Maybe the change in scenery has inspired a little more focus for Fulton Lights, or maybe it’s all those L1 lectures on Tort Reform. Whatever the case, let’s hope Goldman doesn't skip town again any time soon.
Grade: B+
