Votives by Old Man of the Woods
The debut full length album from Old Man of the Woods.
Flickering between devotion and resentment, affection and isolation, faith and doubt, Votives forms a sonic labyrinth guided by a dream that our minds are little churches filled with votives burning for everyone we’ve loved. The first three tracks construct a triptych - beginning with ‘Garden’, an ambient hum evolving with repetition from a hesitant fascination to an unwavering trust, where the candle is lit; moving to ‘Let Me Miss You’, a ukulele-strummed post-breakup plea that begs to feel nostalgic instead of hurt, where it still burns for a memory; then to ‘Votives’, a danceable bass-driven reminder to let go of the memories that only weigh us down, where we blow it out. As the album progresses, these themes repeat, morph, and steep. We grieve our lost loves and lost selves, slowly growing stronger and more assured, with honest moments of weakness along the way. Written from 2018 to 2021, Votives is a journey through what it means to love and be human and make mistakes and keep going. Wrapped in a warm fog of dreamy harmonies and swirling synths, it reminds us that love is magic, release is vital, and movement is forever.
“A pleasant, dreamy synth-pop journey with delicate harmonies that feel like they’re striking the listener from all angles” - Stereogum
“Each pop nugget is like a different landscape painting, textural and intriguing, with deeper meaning hidden behind the lush, beguiling surfaces” - Foxy Digitalis
“One second the record feels engulfed in a deep nebulous fog of doubt, the next it is a sunbeam breaking through, shining a light on what is it to be human, in love, out of love and very much willing to learn how to cope with both” - For the Rabbits
Note: "Open, Hoping" and "Reborn" are digital/tape-only tracks and not included on the vinyl version.
Tracklist
| 1. | Garden | 5:10 |
| 2. | Let Me Miss You | 3:44 |
| 3. | Votives | 4:19 |
| 4. | Running | 2:50 |
| 5. | Open, Hoping | 3:42 |
| 6. | Hissing | 3:40 |
| 7. | River | 3:50 |
| 8. | Some Days | 3:27 |
| 9. | White Wall | 4:04 |
| 10. | Sharks | 4:19 |
| 11. | Enough | 3:04 |
| 12. | In the End | 4:13 |
| 13. | Reborn | 2:14 |
| 14. | Better | 3:40 |
Credits
Written, recorded, and produced by Miranda Elliott
Mastered by SK Tandon at Rose Quartz Mastering
© 2021 Totally Real Records
License
All rights reserved.Tags
ambient avantpop project of seattle-based artist miranda elliott.
the alchemy of shit into sustenance. named after a dark scruffy mushroom that survives by the same creed.
“blurs the line between the personal and the natural world, conjuring a vivid and sometimes eerie soundscape as damp and rich as the woodland floor” -various small flames