Slow Draw is the project of Mark Kitchens, who is also a member of Stone Machine Electric. The music he wrote for The Mystic Crib, which releases on November 10th, makes for a highly relaxing and mellow musical experience, one that is best listened to as a whole and not on a song-by-song basis.
About Slow Draw’s The Mystic Crib
I will use Slow Draw’s Bandcamp description for this section because it is precisely what I thought of this album after hearing it …
“Slow Draw departs from the noisy ambient improvised pieces and journeys into The Mystic Crib with a structured vibe described as a mishmash of Sonic Youth with the psychedelic side of The Beatles. There is a distinct tonal setting for this work. It provides an ambient groove meant for one to lose themselves to, or simply to have floating in the background to calm the mind as one goes about their day.”
The Album
This is where I usually take the album apart track by track. However, the songs on this album flow together as one large song, so I’d like to talk about it as a whole.
There is a cool, mellow vibe that permeates every aspect of The Mystic Crib, as well as having music that pulls in old-school R&B tones, particularly within the keyboard work; the third track, “Daily Jacuzzi Weekly,” is my main reason for saying this. Though tracks like “Embroidered Waistcoats” also bring influences from The Doors, songs like “Invisible Entities” use spacey sounds that border on hip-hop and psych, but they all retain the same feel that I’ve brought up already.
That relaxed atmosphere that flows throughout is also the perfect foundation for those days when you feel the stresses that life can bring. I know that before “I See Her” is over, which is only four tracks in, I’m already totally absorbed into the music, my day melting away with the sounds that Slow Draw delivers. These things make for one of the most soothing musical experiences you’ll hear this fall, a fact that was one of the main goals of its creator.
The other thing that I found interesting is that this record is about something different than the songs, the album, or even the music to some extent. It’s all about the feeling that those things elicit from the listener; it’s about the atmospheric qualities, the relaxed, chill overtones, and the intent of the guy writing it. Those are the most essential takeaways, as they genuinely come across within the music and have the intended effect on those who take the time to check out The Mystic Crib from start to finish.
Final Thoughts
This is a very cool record, good for background listening while doing housework or when you just need to lay back and soak in some soothing sounds after a stressful day. But now I will let the mastermind behind Slow Draw finish things off with his thoughts on the record:
“My main purpose with this album was to set a mood or vibe. It’s meant to create a chill atmosphere and help clear the mind or at least put it in a state of relaxation or numbness. The song titles fit the music but are mostly meaningless since they are mostly phrases or “band names” I came up with and kept a list of. While listening and re-listening to the album during production, I would reference the list and find a title that just fits the song’s mood. In my mind, they fit. You can either listen to the album front to back (recommended) or just pick and choose what you want to hear. I think either strategy would be rewarding.”
Support Slow Draw by finding him on Bandcamp, his official website, or social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube).
This review was written by Tom Hanno, who has been writing reviews for the last 7 years but has been sharing his love of music for the majority of his life. Originally starting out at the now-defunct Chimera Magazine, he is currently contributing to Doomed and Stoned, The Sleeping Shaman, The Doom Charts, Tom’s Reviews, and The Third Eye. Read more of Tom’s reviews by checking out his Linktree.
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