Review: Large Brush Collection & Creekbed Carter Hogan, Split

Marrying delicate fingerpicking and intimate musings, folk quartet Large Brush Collection and queergrass crooner Creekbed Carter Hogan join forces in shared tape project/EP Split. While the eight harmonic arias – including cassette-exclusive track "Forgiveness Is a Gift We Give to Ourselves" – meld smoothly into one tender lullaby, their poignant lyrics fuel an awakening. Nora Predey and Gabriela Torres of Large Brush Collection fill the A-side with stripped-down recordings in Predey's garden. Floating gently above a mellow, arpeggiating bassline, gossamer flute solos summon distant chirping birds in opener "Arm's Length." Still boasting angelic harmonies, the duo reveals deep insecurities in "To Be Somebody" and "Great Capacity." Flipping the tape, "Directions" leads with a droning electric chord organ, ushering in equally raw ruminations recorded in Hogan's bedroom. Envisioning heaven as a warm refuge for queer people, closer "Pilgrim" ultimately carries the heart of the collaboration. Between recordings of a crowd protesting against anti-trans legislation, Hogan rewrites a traditional hymn, declaring, "If none of our blood wants to claim us, then heaven will take us in."