SLOW DRAW - "The Project" from Yellow & Gold (Music Video Premiere)

While we slumbering scribes do have a certain affection for bludgeoning our earholes, we also have a demonstrated affection for the ambient leanings of Texas' own Slow Draw. A side project of Stone Machine Electric's Mark Kitchens, Slow Draw has been consistently putting out music that encourages a moment of respite--much like, it should be noted, our premiere earlier this week. We ran a double review of the excellent Gallo last year, as well as a brief writeup of the 4-track Quiet Joy, which may have claimed the throne as my favorite Slow Draw release...upon until this particular moment, that is. 

The fantastic Yellow & Gold is out today, and is very much worth checking out, in this humble scribes opinion. We'll point you in the right direction soon enough, but in the meantime, we're honored to present the music video for "The Project," one of my favorite tracks on the, erm, project. As always, we'll catch you on the other side!

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As Slow Draw evolves, so does the intrinsic intrigue of the music itself. Originally more ambient, each release seems to be reaching further and further into the basket of adjacent sonic tools. Yellow and Gold, for example, employs a little more drone, a little more psych, a little more trance. The overall aesthetic is like unto a cosmic smoking lounge, but that in and of itself is a limited descriptor. Ultimately, Yellow & Gold delivers songs that are relaxed and relaxing by nature, but never dull in their application of unique elements.

Serving as the intro track, "The Project" is a prime example of Slow Draw's oeuvre--it utilizes an extensive vocal sample, eventually falls into a meditative drone, and ends with some overt cosmic space sounds. The whole sub-two-minute track is akin to listening to a lecture whilst falling asleep--an experience many of us have undoubtedly had, but seldom in the confines of our music-listening. The video itself mirrors this experience, utilizing superimposed images in a blurry half-asleep array. Here, isolated, it simply ends with the sound of what I can only describe as the early stages of an alien abduction, but in the context of Yellow & Gold as a whole "The Project" opens up into the bright and subtly melancholic "Stumble"--a track that sounds wholly distinct from that which came before. That's how this release operates, and man, I love it for that.

​Despite using so many sights and sounds, Slow Draw nonetheless manages to find a warm sense of cohesion on this release. As an inherently sparse project, it succeeds quite well at maintaining the listener's interest. This is a side of ambient music that deserves a lot more recognition, and I'm hopefully that Yellow and Gold will catch some eyes and ears. Needless to say, after you check out "The Project," I highly recommend taking a stroll over to bandcamp and checking out Yellow and Gold in full.

Slow Draw - Yellow  & Gold was released today, May 7th, 2021. Find it here!

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Slow Draw can be found:
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