Western Skies Motel – Settlers – Album Review by Killian Laher

Danish instrumental band Western Skies Motel released Settlers a short while back. The look and feel of the album is very much evoked by the title, a sepia photo of the aforementioned settlers in the old American west. Falling Leaves opens the album with steady, plucked guitars and just the faintest hint of keyboard, tailing off into the sound of wind chimes, ending all too soon. What follows is very much in a similar mould, Two Worlds features similarly pretty guitar patterns as the faint drone of keyboard swells gradually to take over the song. Migratory Birds and Us have even prettier guitars and an even more contemplative feel, the former joined by the lonesome twang of an electric. On Whelm and most of closing track After A Storm the guitars are rested, briefly, for atmospheric keyboard based sounds. The strong melody of Garden is slightly undermined by the over-prominence of what I can only assume are an attempt to replicate the sound of crickets. Transformation and Whirl accomplish what the previous track attempted without any such distractions, sticking largely to austere guitar picking.

What we have here is a pensive, brooding mood wonderfully evoked over 40 minutes or so. It’s available here.

Track List:

1. Falling Leaves
2. Two Worlds
3. Migratory Birds
4. Whelm
5. Us
6. As The Flames Rose
7. Garden
8. Transformation
9. Whirl
10. After A Storm

Whirl: