Aux Meadows – Dust Kingdom
Ambient country is a genre that raises eyebrows sometimes. It’s not exactly new, with its earliest forms dating back to at least the ‘70s, but its surge in popularity is something music geeks like me love but may elicit confusion from others. Aux Meadows is an Oakland-based act making some of that ambient country goodness, recently releasing a gorgeous new record, Dust Kingdom.
Dust Kingdom dropped on May 22nd via Perpetual Doom, recorded in Oakland between October 2022 and March 2023. Aux Meadows comprises J. Imwalle on synth, C. Royalty on guitar, and S. Dawson on lap steel and dobro. The band says they’re the home of “that lonesome planet sound.”
“Lonesome planet sound” – it’s an apt description for ambient country and the music that Aux Meadows has created. In my mind, the genre is about taking traditional country instruments and, instead of using them to create linear song structures, using them for more abstract expression. Ambient country is like roots music for Zen practitioners – it defies description sometimes and often presents itself more like a koan than a song.
Dust Kingdom is like this. “Perfect Toast” opens things in a, shall I say, perfect way that sets the tone. The whine of the lap steel is heard first before an up-tempo acoustic guitar speeds things up like a fast-paced trip down a lonely desert highway. The track digresses at times, but it conveys spaciousness and never quite feels that unfocused.
“A Terrible Thirst” has a more down-home country feel, with a bluesy acoustic guitar riff. The title is also perfect, conjuring images of wandering in a desert expanse under a blistering sun. Those hot summer days are getting closer, y’all, so this track is a reminder – bring water with you. The song devolves at the midway point into a quieter, synth-driven space, which I enjoyed.
“Soft Altar” is short – less than a minute and a half and it acts as an interlude. You get the feeling you’re peeping on Aux Meadows while they jam privately at their Oakland abode with this song. “With Dust the Wind” is also short, featuring harmonica and piano. It reminded me of a lost Woody Guthrie composition set in the modern day, and it also displays the “lonesome planet” vibe.
“The Oppositions” is the longest track, with more bluesy guitar and giving a feeling that you’re down in the Mississippi Delta at the crossroads. Aux Meadows don’t sell their souls, though (we don’t think). The synth adds nice touches, buzzing along lazily on an old country road. “Second Cry Choir” puts the synthesizer front and center. As the title implies, the synth sounds like a choir of weeping angels. The guitar punctuates this lamentation of a song, perhaps the record’s most melancholy track.
“Second Cry Choir” ends nicely with soothing field recordings from Yucca Valley, California. I looked it up, and it’s a small community in the Mojave Desert that’s bordered on the south by Joshua Tree National Park. The cover photo for the album was also taken in Yucca Valley, and I can think of no better place than a High Desert town like this to capture the essence of Aux Meadow’s sound.
“Shapes Silver Prows” closes the album in a meditative way. The dueling guitars dominate with spacey synth sounds looping in the background. It’s one of the trippiest tracks, giving the impression of a UFO abduction in the middle of nowhere. The song also reminds me of other ambient americana releases of late, such as Pure Land Stars and The Far Sound.
One last interesting note about Dust Kingdom: the band says some of the song titles were inspired by Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. As someone who has read and written his fair share of poetry, I loved this factoid.
I did a little research, and Federico García Lorca initially rose to fame with a book of poetry called Gypsy Ballads in 1928, had a close relationship with Salvador Dali, and was assassinated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. In a poem called “Bells for the Dead,” Frederico writes: “Wind shapes the dust/into silver prows.” It makes sense that Aux Meadows would find inspiration in this poet’s works, given the lyricism of their music.
I thoroughly enjoyed Dust Kingdom, and I think you will, too. Aux Meadows captures the sense of desolation that’s a hallmark of ambient country, adding a bluesy spin with excellent guitar playing and synthesizer sounds that situate the record squarely in the annals of Weird America. Head to Bandcamp and purchase this one. You won’t regret it.
This review was written by Nick, who runs The Third Eye psychedelic rock blog. Nick is a Philadelphia-area native who recently moved to Tennessee with his wife and two fuzzy children. Since moving to his new home, Nick’s enjoyed being surrounded by honky-tonks in the Nashville area, listening to WMOT Roots Radio, and being closer to the birthplace of country music.
