Snowflake

I'm in Seoul, currently experiencing one of the coldest winters in recent memory. As I hide under my blankets and watch the snow swirl against the windows, I find myself gravitating towards all sorts of music--warm and sunny songs are comforting, but there's a dark appeal to tapping into stormier feelings, too. No wonder Snowflake has been on my playlist for a while: split the difference between Mogwai and Grizzly Bear and you still wouldn't come close to describing the New York art-rockers, who just released debut album We All Grow Towards The Sea this week. The band handles brooding melodies and textures with a surprisingly deft hand, producing songs as impressive as anything Mother Nature can conjure in scope and sound while showing off unexpected dynamic range, colorful instrumentation, and razor-sharp hooks. While every song, from the eerie piano ballad "Initials" to the spunky and powerful "Black Stars," is outstanding, if you only listen to one song, make it "Hurricane." Project leader D. James Goodwin doesn't so much ride over the song as sink into it with his hypnotic, drawling voice; meanwhile, the electronics, guitar and drum sink into the background before exploding two verses in, tearing the fabric of the song apart in a destructive display both visceral and beautiful. Throughout its debut, Snowflake suggests that perhaps this destruction is a good thing, that something better will grow in place of what the blizzards blow away.

Stream We All Grow Towards The Sea below (make yourself a good blanket fort before listening if you so desire), and find more on Snowflake at the band's Facebook. - Muzik Discovery

At its genesis, Snowflake was the singular vision of a single man, producer/mixer/engineer D. James Goodwin. Holed up in the Catskills in 2012, Goodwin wrote and recorded the entire debut Snowflake LP, We All Grow Toward The Sea, by himself. Having worked with artists like Norah Jones, Kaki King, Murder By Death, The Bravery, and Devo, this was to be Goodwin’s own project and he wanted to be at the heart of every sound. On “Hurricane,” we hear Snowflake blending the keyboard wash of The Alan Parson Project with the bombast and beauty of ’70s Pink Floyd; smooth, the way Gilmour and Woolfson sang. In due time the song builds on its meandering, swirling opening, layer upon layer, becoming a big, bright hunk of technicolor art-rock.
A NINE-SONG CONCEPT record, We All Grow Toward The Sea explores the confusions and pressures that come with everyday life in our modern world.

ONCE HE’D FINISHED THE debut Snowflake LP, Goodwin put together a band—Ryan Ross Smith (Stars Like Fleas), Josh Benash (Kiss Kiss), Eli Walker (Natalie Merchant), and James Bertini (Sticklips)—to perform it with him.

SNOWFLAKE WILL PERFORM We All Grow Toward The Sea in its entirety from East Coast to West beginning in early 2014.
- DirectCurrent Music

While D. James Goodwin may not be a familiar name, he’s worked in multiple capacities whether mixing/mastering/producing with such artists as Devo, The Bravery, Murder by Death, and, most recently, Leverage Models on their eponymous debut. However, now he’s set to go at it on his own for his personal project Snowflake. Releasing on December 10th, We All Grow Toward The Sea marks the project’s debut and is an awe-inspiring collision of sounds reminiscent of Mogwai and Pink Floyd.

The nine song release chronicles the deep confusions and pressures of modern life; a concept record without dogma; a cinematic display of pop sensibility with volume and scope. Goodwin wrote and recorded this album completely by himself in The Isokon, his personal studio in the Catskills, but he’s prepared to take the album on the road as well. For its live incarnation, Goodwin has brought together Ryan Ross Smith (Stars Like Fleas), Josh Benash (Kiss Kiss), Eli Walker (Natalie Merchant), and James Bertini (Sticklips) to kick off Snowflake dates in 2014.

Today Earbuddy is excited to give you a taste of the album and what you’ll experience live in the form of lead single, “Hurricane”. The song’s early somber tone gives way to an explosive finale, starting around the 3 minute mark before dropping to a near whispered ending. It’s a sonic spectacle that you don’t want to miss. Prepare to be moved because this “Hurricane” is coming your way…below. - Earbuddy