Jakob Battick - Hiding In The Orchard (self released, 2009)

Jakob Battick - Sister Song


This is one I've been sleeping on for a while. I've been listening to it for weeks and have never been able to muster up the proper words to describe just how magically charming Hiding In The Orchard is.

Jakob Battick's been in a variety of projects including 1800s Sea Monster and Swollen Spring Violets, but unless you're from Maine, those names might not ring too many bells. He's also released some stuff under his own name, but Orchard is the first EP of all new material.

A good starting point for comparisons might be Beirut because Battick's wonderful voice kind of reminds me of Zach Condon's. The music is slow moving and very sleepy sounding; perfect for a moonlit autumn night, shuffling your feet through crunchy leaves on the forest floor. The minimal instrumentation sounds larger than you'd think it whould, making it nice and full. Still, somehow it feels like each guitar pluck and sung word is echoing throughout an open field, as if the sounds are only echoing off of each other and not physical objects.

Hiding In The Orchard is a beautifully understated record that probably won't be heard by as many people as it should be. Battick is likely destined for greatness and will one day have plenty of amazing full lengths that will be reviewed on Pitchfork and The Wire but for now, we'll just have to accept his gorgeous and humble EPs made of recycled bingo cards.