Plains
Confirm Reservation
self-released
Click to hear: “Unlucky Friend ”
At the other end of the musical spectrum from Sylvia we find the soothing sounds of Plains, which released a full-length titled Confirm Reservation last fall. Plains is another local supergroup of sorts. It evolved in 2007 from the skeleton of the slowcore band Seekonk — Dave Noyes and (Bollard contributor) Patrick Corrigan initially recruited singer-songwriter Erin Sprinkle to record some leftover Seekonk material — and subsumed the indie-folk duo South China (Jeremy and Jerusha Robinson).
Songs like the slow-burner “Unlucky Friend,” with its quivering guitar lines stabbing through pillow-soft vocal harmonies, and “Swimmer,” which slides gracefully from spare folk into a wah-wah groove, most closely recall the enchanting oddness of Seekonk. “Jane” is back-porch country. “King” could prompt Cowboy Junkies to call their copyright lawyer, though it climbs into rockier territory than those Canadians dare tread. The lethargic “Trip” may cause you to nod off before the payoff of its gorgeous, soaring ending, but on the whole, Reservation is worth keeping.
— Chris Busby
