Discography

Porchmass 2007

In the past two years, (VxPxC) has grown from a Golden State oddity to a Los Angeles institution. The trio of Grant Capes, Tim Goodwillie, and Justin McInteer have churned out an entire catalog of blissed-out improvisations that range from the organic and melodic to overblown chaos. There's never a dirth of new ideas flowing out of their collective minds, and on "Porchmass," their first proper CD release after a slew of CDRs and cassettes, they push the envelope into a whole new realm.

Recorded entirely on Goodwillie's porch in City Terrace, in East LA, "Porchmass" is a ramshackle choir singing in effigy to the orange polluted sunsets of Southern California. (VxPxC) only use a small arsenal of acoustic and battery-powered instruments, singing bowls, and pots & pans as makeshift-percussion, but it is magic junkyard orchestra. This is also the first appearance of the now-trademark accordian that graces recent (VxPxC) sessions. By using this array, the group traverses new territory somewhere near the islands of Jewelled Antler or The Vanishing Voice.

Despite the minimal setup, the songs on "Porchmass" are incredibly rich and diverse. Between the solemn notes of the accordian, washes of droning keyboards, and turbulent acoustic guitars rises a heartbroken voice that acts as a torch. The wordless vocals flicker like volcanic ash falling from a sunkissed sky. There's so many things at odds with each other throughout these pieces that the resulting dichotomies and trichotomies create an entirely new sound.

(VxPxC) is Los Angeles through-and-through. But this is not your grandfather's LA of Hollywood glam and cocaine binge weekends. Capes, Goodwillie, and McInteer are blessed by the sun and palm trees, but when you dig deeper you find the warm, inviting underbelly that keeps such an enormous city afloat. "Porchmass" is a quiet hymn for the populations that the outside world has forgotten.