TRAILS AND WAYS – No Wisdom

Contributed by Chris Gedos

Oakland’s Trails And Ways seems like a fusion band which hasn’t fully fused yet, but there’s so much talent here they get a free pass for any genre-picking they may be guilty of. Their new EP, Temporal, has some of the grooviest album art I’ve seen in a while— a true homage to art deco with the abstract lettering and Mayan color palette. “Chills” descends into muzak for a few seconds, but they more than make up for it with the Joao Gilberto inspired “One Note” and a lushly produced cover of M83’s “Midnight City”. However, “No Wisdom” is the star of this EP, featuring one of the most thoughtful arrangments I’ve heard in awhile. And the syncopated vocal is totally boss. A little more time in the kiln and these cats will be a band to watch for in 2k12.

TRAILS AND WAYS (Bandcamp)

Rating 7.9

Reviewed by b3