Ecovillage: "Arise From The Ashes"

Peter and Emil make up chilled-out buddy act Ecovillage, who tickled the hippies pink this year with their Quest And That Magic Summer album on Myspace. Hooking friends like a pyrite supermodel and hailed as the resurrection of My Bloody Valentine circa 1991, it unfortunately failed to find a label prepared to cough up and sponsor it. Understandably, the Ecovillage twosome were left Rocky I hungry to prove you need more than worldwide insolvency to subdue the brawn of Swedish shoegaze. From the stiff twigs of their frosty homeland comes this latest spark of orange glee, born irrespective of global cooling and fresher than that first chomp of spearmint in a midsummer traffic jam. Imagine the photogenic haze of a wide summer garden (not 100% Eden, though—there’s still brambles to graze you if you forage deep enough) being gently shaded with sitars and misty vocals, the whole thing lapping while breaks hold back some stinging waves of karma. Yes, the title might rip off eighties black metal, but you can see that “Arise From The Ashes” has a lot more in common with the Sorceress than it does with the pits of Snake Mountain. It’s joyous as newlywed Cocteau Twins and more environmentally sound than recycled reindeer poop. Did you know the ancient Sami people of Scandinavia used to feed their stag psychotropic toadstools and get high on the resultant urine? Bottoms up.