Album Review: Avey Tare Observes “Cows On Hourglass Pond”

You ever have a moment when you really feel connected to nature? You look outside and see cows grazing or observe pigeons flapping away at a park, and, suddenly, you become fascinated on how other living things work beyond you. There are instances we allow ourselves to observe moments, and look at everything that makes up our day with a basic humility. For Avey Tare, Cows On Hourglass Pond is really about observing what lives around you as if it lived within you.

If we are all energy, then, in an odd way, we are constantly flowing and exchanging Life with those/ that around us on a metaphysical level. Okay that is really deep, BUT Cows on Hourglass Pond has Avey Tare using sound like it is a philosopher. “What’s The Good Side?” “Nostalgia In Lemonade,” and “Our Little Chapter” have Avey Tare putting a mirror to his life and seeing it like spark amongst a galaxy of lights. Finding self-meaning in a world filled with perceptions, relationships, and personal missions can feel like a daunting task, which is why Tare’s sound feels intimately cosmic in tracks like, “Saturdays (Again)” and “Remember Mayan.” He is taking an emotional “trip,” which is why he relies on his verses to feel like footprint for you to follow as he walks across the universe. 

Vocally, Avey Tare’s voice is endearingly passive. It seeps into rhythms like water does soil; appearing clearly life-giving and harmless. The way his voice blends into his soundscapes, no matter how illustrious or simple, only makes the album appear more like a sonic, personal diary. For Tare, music is a mirror, but he wants to see what else “the mirror” catches in his reflection. If he sets his verses as if he is looking at himself, he sets his instrumentals as if they are the settings getting caught in his visions. Thus, Avey Tare’s Cows On Hourglass Pond is an album you put on when you, literally, want to get in your head. For More Information Avey Tare’s Cows On Hourglass Pond, Out March 22. Click Here.