Muruch

Petracovich’s 2002 release Blue Cotton Skin is even more beautiful and haunting than their sophomore album We Are Wyoming.

take me for a ride, open window’s the sign, staining blue, soaked into my cotton skin

The voice of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jessica Peters is particularly lovely on the opening eerie lullaby “Nighttime” and the melancholy piano ballad “Company”. “Falls From Trees” and the finale “Footsteps” float around in Petracovich’s signature trip-pop haze.

“Bird’s In Flight” holds true to the band’s trippy softness, but adds some spark with hand claps and a multi-tracked choir hum. “Coyote And The Moon” provides a gentle piano instrumental interlude before “Driving Home” shifts into a lighter acoustic style. And “Water House” is curious concoction of tinkling glass and industrial clunk.

the dust is picking up the pink and sun is really making a show and i’m so settled in my sunken seat, breathing like i was asleep

Petracovich – Nighttime (mp3)
Petracovich – Birds In Flight (mp3)

Petracovich Official Site
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Petracovich’s songs have been featured in various films and televisions series, but it was singer Terami Hirsch’s best of 2006 list that first introduced me to their beautifully atmospheric music. Terami also included Gabriela Kulka and DeVotchKa on the list, so I expected to like Petracovich’s music and I certainly do. Petracovich is named for the Russian great-grandfather of lead singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jessica Peters. Jessica is the central figure and driving force behind the band, capturing experiences and encounters in her travel journal before transforming them into song. Her band’s eclectic brand of dreamy folktronica has been compared to Portishead, Morcheeba, Bjork, Mazzy Star, Sparklehorse, Aimee Mann, and The Innocence Mission. I’d throw in Air, Eisley, and Trepassers William.

Included in the menagerie of instruments that make up the band’s second release, We Are Wyoming, are piano, synths, wurlitzer, kalimba, bells, mandolin, harmonica, cello, trombone, drums, and various guitars. The album begins with a brief and gentle cover of DeBussy’s classic “Clair De Lune”. There are also small instrumental interludes on the disc, including Chopin’s “Fantasy Impromptu”.

Jessica’s angelic voice is layered into acoustics, ethereal pop melodies, and low-fi hums on tracks like “Pecadillos”, “Telephone”, “Paper Cup”, and “All I Have to Say”. Songs like the hypnotic “Summer Trees” have more prominent trip-hop beats and skips over muffled piano and haunting vocals.

“What if I Come to Get You?” has a harder thump under a cheerier, jangly piano melody. Then there is the melodic, melancholy haze of “The Ultrasound” and “Dearly Departed”, and the eerie carousel lullaby “Others”. “We Are Wyoming” closes the album with a peacefully intimate space-pop whisper.

Petracovich – Summer Trees (mp3)
Petracovich – Telephone (mp3)

Petracovich’s Official Site
Petracovich on MySpace

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