photos by Justine Johnson
Treble is hosting an exclusive stream of “Detectives,” the new single from Portland, Maine-based ECHO RESPONSE. The track precedes the outfit’s debut album Triangles, nearing release this month through Pax Aeternum.
The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Jason Ingalls (El Malo, formerly of The Baltic Sea, Seekonk, and more), ECHO RESPONSE’s debut album Triangles stands as an act of sonic world-building – and immersive, vibrant landscape in which a listener can lose themselves. Unafraid to contort the influence of his predecessors into something new and different, Ingalls doesn’t perform songs so much as he embarks on journeys.
From the Studio One vibes of opener “The Approach,” to the pensive Morricone ambience of “One Door Opens,” to the worldly Eno/Byrne funk of “Rayquaza,” Ingalls manages to pull the listener in a different direction with each song without losing the sense of the larger path being headed down. But focusing on these individual points of reference would be like staring at brushstrokes rather than taking in the whole of a painting. Like fellow iconoclasts such as Can, Tortoise, and Khruangbin, ECHO RESPONSE fuses the rhythmic pulse of dub, the ethereal sheen of cosmic jazz, and the anything goes aesthetic of krautrock into something that can balance being expansive yet inviting, eclectic yet focused, reverent yet iconoclastic.
Entirely written and performed by Jason Ingalls, except for saxophone performed throughout the album by Rexy Dinosaur, Triangles was recorded at Ingalls’ home and at Acadia Recording Company, mixed by Todd Hutchisen, mastered by Pat Keane, and completed with cover art by Chris Allen Collage and photography by Justine Johnson.
Ingalls describes the inspiration for the “Detectives” single as, “A crime of humid passion under the cover of tropical darkness. Rum-soaked cigars hold secrets. Brisk ska looking for clues in tandem once again with Rexy Dinosaur on saxophone until an ending that cuts to black with the words… to be continued.”
Treble writes with the track’s debut, “The song is an instrumental, multi-layered swirl of jazz, dub and psychedelia, a darkly luxurious echo of some of the collaborations that took place in places like Nassau’s Compass Point Studios back in the ’80s. But with a touch more sinister, stylish noir. Not unlike a suspenseful score for an episode of Miami Vice.”
Stream ECHO RESPONSE’s “Detectives” first at Treble RIGHT HERE.
Pax Aeternum will release Triangles through all digital/streaming services on March 18th. Find preorders where the lead single “BIFAR” is streaming at Bandcamp HERE and watch for further developments over the days ahead.
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