BOLIDEN “Backyard” (Lillerne Tapes)




Let it go. That’s an easy sentiment to read into Boliden’s work. The Barcelona musician, going by José María Delgado Díaz in real life, fills his work with such a sense of freedom that you can close your eyes and revel in the moment. Washed-out visions of sun-dappled fields flit through your mind, and you breathe in the scent of the outdoors and nature and lose yourself in the world around you, untroubled by other people. The tracks inhale and exhale, becoming part of you, innately occurring with you, becoming intertwined with your life cycle. There’s great longing, there’s hope, there’s nostalgia, there’s sadness, there’s happiness, there’s love, there’s loss. Boliden deftly weaves the human experience into his work, drawing from the grandest and broadest emotions to appeal to a great swath of listeners. Chances are, if you’re human, you’re likely to find something to enjoy in Boliden’s work. I’m not kidding – it felt like I was listening to a new love letter to life with each passing song. The production, a bedroom-style agglomeration of tones and moods, appropriately misty and interspersed with sparse beats, perfectly fits Boliden’s idiom, the lived-in quality of the recording and worn edges of the tracks complementing the suggestion of outdoor activity and exploration. Easily relistenable, the exact thing you need for long drives or walks, BACKYARD opens the world around you in a way that’s new and inviting. Get your mitts on a copy right quick before the 50-tape run sells out.

Boliden

Lillerne Tapes

--Ryan Masteller