REVIEW: Max Gowan - Far Corners

Kelly Kirwan

You take in Max Gowan’s delicate alternative rock by virtue of easy osmosis. It’s an effortless absorption, a soundtrack for pensive moods that have just a hint of melancholy. Its light touch lingers, your mind subconsciously committing the chords to memory, stowing away the lyrics, as a subtle sort of magnetism draws you in. Gowan proves that being subdued doesn’t equate to being overlooked. His latest eight-track tape, Far Corners, (out via Quinton’s Fun Records) is marked by Gowan’s understated vocals and calm, indie-rock melodies. The artist recorded, mixed, and mastered each song himself, and there’s a relaxed intimacy throughout—Far Corners is made for moments of reflection.

The opening track, "Bad Breeze," begins with closely-stacked acoustic percussion, a quick succession reminiscent of a shuffling deck of cards with richer resonance. Gowan’s voice is a featherweight murmur, nearly lost in the gleam of guitar strings and rolling staccato beat. If daydreams had a voiceover, Gowan’s voice would be it. It’s a pitch that may just float away in a faint gust of wind, his lyrics rising and falling with the breeze.

The shortest song on the album, "All of the Time," is filled with slow slides of the guitar, its bright disposition offset by an echoing ambiance, as if we were listening to the echoes that permeate the ocean floor. It seeps in gradually, soon filling the forefront of the song as those last few strokes of the guitar fade.

The remnants of these notes from "All of the Time" bleed into the following track, "Washed Up," which then breaks into a much faster pace. There’s a hint of Gowan’s whispering timbre under the melody as it skips along, holding its head high, marked by a few introspective interludes. It ebbs and flows, a rush of rich instrumentals and stripped-down guitar plucks, whose notes wash across the track. Strings are a prominent feature in Max Gowan's music, and they often add an idiosyncratic twang or vaguely forlorn touch.

Far Corners is an album that flows so smoothly from one song to the other. As listeners, we coast along on air, trying to carve out the lyrics that Gowan offers like a secret, spoken under his breath. His music is like a smile that with the slightest inkling of sadness, and we want to know everything about it.