On Orange Co. Serenade, Bathetic’s first release from the rising guitar savant DANIEL BACHMAN, we’re introduced to a veritable landscape of winding guitar. Bachman treats his guitar lines and licks in a way that resembles the earth itself, at its most pristine, delicate, yet also primal and overpowering.
Pieces move, ascending and descending in the same way that the clouds roll through blue skies, the same way brooks babble down rocky fronts carving their paths in the land. There’s a solemn, rustic tone to the album, in that it feels classic. It’s cinematic in the way it works, a lost soundtrack to some forgotten Terrence Malick or Win Wenders film. But, really, it’s so much more than that. It’s a beautiful record, not haunting and not engrossing, not overtly melancholic nor pretentious. It’s a record that lasts.
Bachman knows his merits behind the guitar and he never falters. The record traverses the landscapes, falling in and out of terrains, but never losing sight of its purpose. It’s driving and immersive. Seldom does a record support such a variety of track titles that hit the nail on the head. You can read a title like “Coming Home” or “And Now I Am Born To Die” and when that guitar opens up and runs the course, you know fully you’re headed right where Bachman told you.
