For those that don't know, Maine is cold. Now you know. Portland, ME experimental band Jaw Gems are well aware of their home's long, harsh winters. As a native Minnesotan, I can attest to the fact that, in the midst of such wintry doldrums, nothing feels better than emerging into spring. And that's the inspiration behind Jaw Gems' new track, "Peace Pipe," premiering today on EARMILK.
"We wanted to create something that captures the excitement of spring arriving and the world becoming warm again. We live in Maine where it's iced over for almost half the year, so we wrote this track for people to play with the windows down - something with some bounce, something bright and sort of ethereal. Everything really came together around the main keyboard line that comes in right at the top. All of the other parts flowed really naturally from that one."
With "Peace Pipe," Jaw Gems conjure the aesthetic of Flying Lotus's Until the Quiet Comes—that's the FlyLo that's less derived from Coltrane-era free jazz and more about creating rich, neo-soul tapestries (though there's almost always both). The mentioned keyboard line rolls butter-thick harmonies up and down the keys. Wrapped snugly around them are shimmering synthesizers, classic Moog timbres, and trebly, swishing rhythms and high hats. "Peace Pipe" is as refreshing as a walk in the reborn woods, and it's as colorful as the trees after the pipe in question has been had.
Jaw Gems' HEATWAVER album arrives this August. Until then, breathe in that fresh spring air and bump some "Peace Pipe."
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