eau claire is a collaboration between jessica bailiff (kranky records) and rachel staggs (experimental aircraft/all in the golden afternoon). the first eau claire release is now available. the band was formed in 2002 and recorded with alan sparhawk of low. the release is limited to 750 copies. you may purchase it here online or in austin, texas at end of an ear - 2209 south first street.
press:
Eau Claire: S/T (Clairecords, 2005)
Ethereal chanteuse, Jessica Bailiff, and Rachel Staggs of lush shoe-gazers, Experimental Aircraft, have formed a dreamy super-duo of sorts with their latest project, Eau Claire. Recorded at 20 Below studio with Alan Sparhawk of Low, Jessica and Rachel cast a gauzy glow on the self-titled EP's four tracks.
"Freefall" starts things off with fuzzy, atmospheric drones, a farfisa organ, and a drumbeat that calls to mind Jesus and Mary Chain's, "Just Like Honey". The icing on this psychedelic cake is Jessica's lovely hazy soprano. Another highlight is the gorgeously oceanic, "Soaring", this time sung by Rachel. Clocking in at over nine minutes, the song glides by, washing the listener in it's melancholy light.
The real strength in this EP, besides Rachel and Jessica being equally talented vocalists (their voices are able to blend seamlessly and yet sound distinct) and song-writers, is Eau Claire's ability to harness mood so effectively. By injecting their gilded melodies with shoe gaze, drone, and texture, the ladies of Eau Claire have offered up a yummy swoon-fest on this impressive, but far too short, debut.
venus
I first heard Eau Claire way back in January 2005 when Rachel Staggs very kindly sent me a collection of songs on a CDR. I was very taken by the recordings then, and it’s good to see four tracks surfacing on this EP for clairecords. I’m sure many of you know already that Rachel is a member of the ace Experimental Aircraft outfit and that she contributed deliciously to the excellent Monster Movie Transistor set for Graveface. Jessica Bailiff, meanwhile, you possibly know as part of the Clear Horizon project with Flying Saucer Attack’s Dave Pearce. With those reference points in place you’d probably have a good idea of what Eau Claire sound like, and you’d be about right in thinking it was a sparse, shadowy and somewhat surreal spacerock suffused with sepulchral vocals. Certainly worth tracking down, and just the thing for lazy summer evenings on the lawn.
tangents
Take Jessica Balliff, Rachel Goldstar, and Alan Sparhawk, place them in a recording studio, and you get a project called Eau Claire. Eau Claire is a collaboration between Jessica Balliff and Rachel Goldstar (Experimental Aircraft) with Alan Sparhawk as producer and recording engineer. The songs are a mix of singer-songwriter and blissed out dreampop. Coupled with the angelic vocals of Goldstar and Balliff, this short ep is worth every penny spent on it. It's spacious, beautiful, and utterly blissful.
“Freefall†begins the ep with blissful fuzz that lays a foundation for the rest of the album. This changes into fantastic, spacey keys and angelic female vocals. To be honest, Balliff and Goldstar’s voices make me swoon. They are perfect and they really draw you in amidst the slow-tempo fuzz. “Freefall†is slow, patient, and perfectly timed. “Soaring†begins with a sort of windy silence and a low rumble. This soft noise then blends with an acoustic guitar floating on top of it. When the rumble fades a bit, the vocals come in and, once again, the sweet, angelic voices come out of the speakers. “Soaring†is over nine minutes long and never, ever gets boring. Eventually, the noise in the background takes on a more structured feel that is beautiful and spacey.
“For Times†begins with acoustic guitar and some sprinkles of keys and really cool knocking in the background. This has a more singer-songwriter feel to it, but the other more ambient/dreampop elements are still present. The track ends in a rather cool mix of eerie sounds and backward samples. “Song For†completes this all too short Ep and begins with acoustic guitar, fuzz, noises, and jingle bells. Balliff and Goldstar deliver ExAir style vocals. This song has a slow/medium tempo and really showcases their careful songwriting and their ability to be patient and allow the song to play itself out. The song eventually fades out into a slow murmur of humming undertones.
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