Woods Odyssey

Now that it's spring, I feel compelled to get outside and soak in the warmth and vigor. I usually satisfy this compulsion by venturing into the woods of Veterans Park adjacent to my neighborhood. When making such a journey, I find that the experience can be greatly enhanced by bringing along some music that perfectly reflects the moment and reveals the more latent marvels of the woods. The following five songs represent the highlights from my 100-song playlist that I constructed for walks through the woods.

1. "Lazy Day" - Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils (Captured Tracks - 2010)
2. "Photojournalist" - Small Black - New Chain (Jagjaguwar - 2010)
3. "Art Vandelay" - Ducktails - Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics (Woodsist - 2011)
4. "Heart (feat. Keep Shelly in Athens)" - MMOTHS - EP (SQE Music - 2012)
5. "god takes care of me" - Ricky Eat Acid - Blithe Field/Ricky Eat Acid Split (Primitive Patterns - 2013)

Beach Fossils' self-titled debut is bedroom-recorded bliss. The guitars echo around in lo-fi delay as they bleed with sun-washed jangle. The entire album is perfect for any warm day, but this song in particular fits the mood of the walk through the woods. Though the activity may not be as lazy as I usually am, the aimless wandering that I tend toward makes the day feel lazy in the best way. This song comes first because I think it sets a good mood for the rest of the day.

Small Black's debut album may be my favorite from the initial burst of chillwave back in 2010. Layered dreamy and psychedelic synths, lightly-grooving bass, over-compressed drum machine beats, and lazy, slightly-obscured vocals make for a perfect spring sound. This track itself features an earworm of a melody with a wobbly synth waving in and out of tune. The sound again feel sun-washed like the previous track, and when I walk through the woods, that is exactly what I want. I don't want some high-tempo pop banger; I want a hazy blend of sweet melodies and psychedelic production. Small Black's "Photojournalist" captures this perfectly.

Ducktails comes from the same one-man bedroom-pop place as Beach Fossils. However, instead of making jangly dream-pop, he puts out some lo-fi psychedelia with effect-laden guitar and a constant kick drum reminiscent of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion. Panda Bear of Animal Collective even lends some soaring harmonies on this version to further solidify the comparison. His aesthetic again matches the feeling I'm trying to capture, and he begs the listener, "don't go killin' the vibe." This vibe is one that I think captures spring for me, and I wouldn't want anyone killing it.

MMOTHS debut EP came out last year, so while not in the core of the trend, he clearly takes heavy inspiration from the chillwave of 2010. The dreamy production and poppy electronics insist on transporting the listener to a twilight zone of eternal spring. The track features vocal form Sarah P of chillwave duo Keep Shelly in Athens, only adding to the appeal. Her voices winds around the tracks with a light layer of delay and reverb to make it seem more ethereal and almost heaven-sent. When the beat drops out and she sings "float around," I almost feel my feet leave the ground. This song is not upbeat and sunny; it is contented and sun-bleached and so perfect for this playlist.

The final track comes from Ricky Eat Acid who produces music under many names and flavors but always feels genuine. His tracks always feel somehow electronic in composition but with very organic origins. This song specifically has a driving kick and open-hat beat that doesn't feel at all harsh or dance-floor oriented. Instead it serves as a constant rhythm to contrast the other layers which fluctuate sporadically. Glitchy sampled acoustic guitars lay over random blips and drones. The track has a quiet warmth to it that truly comes out when listened to walking through the woods. After my most recent odyssey, this song was stuck most noticeably in my head, and I think it serves as the perfect closer to this playlist.