It's rare, especially in the case of a band I truly love, for me to be completely content with a band's released content and not eagerly lust for more. But then not every band is able to put forth such a flawlessly epic album as Hundred Waters debut self-titled record. A record that casually reveals an additional layer of beguiling complexity on each subsequent listen, I have yet to actually tire of it. When I saw Hundred Waters on their most recent co-headlining tour with BRAIDS however they revealed a series of grandiose new tracks that threatened swallow me whole in their cosmic splendor. I hadn't been particularly craving any new material from the band but if they were going to offer it anyway who was I to say no?
Fast-forward several months later and while the details of their upcoming sophomore record are still an elusive mystery, Hundred Waters have offered up a little something to satiate the appetite. The first thing that struck me about new single "Down From the Rafters" was a bit of anthropological appropriation in its intro. While Hundred Waters have always been gifted in their ability to blur the electronic and the organic so fully and completely, the opening melody line featuring an refreshing incorporation of strings seemed almost too archaic to function in a Hundred Waters track. And yet, from there their initial spell is cast. They lead off almost immediately with the new through the presentation of the old before Nicole Miglis vocals enter to enchant in their almost all too familiar way. There's something noticeable ancient in the band's normally futuristic textural interplay and yet, Hundred Waters continues to revel in their universal resonance.
"Down from the Rafters" displays Hundred Waters effortless mastery of space managing to recall both the expansiveness to birth an echo and the intricate lushness imbued in the most magical of their musical moments. While Hundred Waters seemed to illustrate a vision of galactic proportions on their debut, "Down From the Rafters" demonstrates that time itself might lend itself as a co-conspirator on their new record.
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