Nick Delffs - Transitional Phase [CD]

'Transitional Phase' is the second solo LP from Boise songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nick Delffs. A beloved staple of the Pacific Northwest music scene since emerging with the beloved Portland-based band The Shaky Hands (Kill Rock Stars). It was clear then, as it is now, that he possessed an authentic-maybe ancient-voice and energy. Delffs has long been fascinated with Hinduism, and took a second trip to India not long before work on the new album began. "Meditating and chanting are such constant parts of my life these days," Delffs says. "They came into this album like any other naturally flowing thought." The chanted and sung lines might feel like nods to some of Delffs' favorite artists-Alice Coltrane, George Harrison and Yamuna Devi among them-but they arrive on the album naturally. As it's title suggests, 'Transitional Phase' is an album about opening oneself up to change, refusing the calcification that comes with age, and opting instead for wholesale transformation. Recorded with co-producer/collaborator Eli Moore (LAKE), 'Transitional Phase' grows upon Delffs' musical foundations and sees him leaning further into a synth-laden world reminiscent of 80s new wave and synth-pop. Delffs enlisted several old friends to help flesh out 'Transitional Phase': drums from Joe Plumer (The Shins, Modest Mouse, Cold War Kids) and Graeme Gibson (Michael Nau, Fruit Bats); keys from Luke Wyland (Au, Methods Body); strings and arrangements from composer Peter Broderick (Sharon Van Etten, M. Ward); and his old The Shaky Hands bandmate Mayhaw Hoons on bass. The result is transcendentally and sonically free, like those particularly melodic moments spent with Peter Gabriel or Kate Bush.