by David Wilikofsky
Growing up, one of my family activities was going record shopping. At least once a month my brother, father and myself would pile into the car and hit a series of used record stores. We’d comb through disorganized stacks or crates of CDs, more often than not striking out but occasionally striking gold. New age music, that oft-maligned genre, was relegated to the bargain bin (if the store even carried it); they were the records that stayed there for years just gathering dust. The genre’s bad rap in the nineties and aughts was undeserved, and Shabason, Krgovich and Harris’s new album proves it. With their collaborative album Philadelphia, they take the tropes and sounds of new age music and twist them into a transfixing pop album.
You can clearly hear new age’s influence throughout Philadelphia; these songs share the same gentle tranquility that can be found in the best of that genre. Synths are the most prominent instrument. They’re soft and expansive, unhurriedly drifting from one wash of sound to another. Tracks such as “I Don’t See the Moon” incorporate elements of smooth jazz and soft rock with groovy bass lines and twinkling pianos. At the same time, these are dense compositions filled with subtle textures and details. Some use field recordings of birds in the background. Others features light flourishes of woodwinds or wordless vocals. Each song rewards repeated listening, allowing you to uncover new layers of sound each time.
While the instrumentals are expansive and enveloping, the lyrics focus on the minutiae of everyday life. Opener “Osouji” turns cleaning your house into a profound experience. “When you make the bed / And I make it again / It makes me smile / I like doing this / the dust can dance / Again and again” Krgovich sings. Seeing your neighbor’s cat sitting in its usual spot, walking through your parent’s yard or just strolling through town are all equally celebrated and imbued with a magical luster. Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments (in an album full of them) comes in the form of “Friday Afternoon”. A song about sitting in traffic and driving through town, it climaxes with the phrase “Wrap your loving arms around it” repeated over and over again. It reads as both an invitation and command to embrace and love the world around us.
There are a lot of things happening in the world we should be upset about, but at the same time we need to be able to find some joy to keep going. Throughout Philadelphia, Shabason, Krgovich and Harris do just that. This music is a respite from the world, reminding you that there is beauty all around us even if it is in the most mundane of places. It’s a celebration of the everyday. I’ve used it as my soundtrack to long, slow walks through the park; it’s the perfect backing track for strolling through whatever nature the city has to offer. And while it is unobtrusive, it’s certainly not background music; give it your attention and you’ll be rewarded. In the end, Philadelphia is one of the most unique and uplifting pop albums you’ll hear this year.