Javelin (cousins George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk) recorded and mixed Hi Beams at Machine With Magnets (Pawtucket, Rhode Island) using proper microphones, vintage mixing desk, an array of amplifiers, real plate reverb - in the traditional sense a "studio album". Previous work had been cobbled together in home studios and mixed on computer. On this record, Javelin aimed for a sound they could not have achieved by themselves.
Hi Beams represents a more holistic approach to writing and recording than previously attempted by the band. The lyrics and vocal harmonies for the first time are foregrounded in decidedly song-like forms. The songs were made to be performed in concert rather than as a patchwork of fragmented glittery shards. They cover a broad range of territories: homage to the strangeness of being a performer; encountering beauty and the void in the natural world; how mundane aspects of work/life distract and alienate us from our desires; advice to internet-based musicians; an assurance to someone who has isolated themselves; light, sky, stars, moon; gravity, delivered with levity...
Javelin began making music in 2005 under the auspice of the Providence, Rhode Island art/ noise scene, which birthed Black Dice and Lightning Bolt amongst others. Hi Beams follows the duo's 2011 western-inspired Canyon Candy EP, their genre-hopping No Más LP in 2010, and their 2009 self-released debut album Jamz n Jemz.
Javelin has played shows and toured with Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, Future Islands, Matt & Kim, Warpaint, Major Lazer, performed at Lollapalooza and The Whitney Museum, as well as parties across the US, Europe, and South America.
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