Judging from the title, the sophomore release from England's Windmill (which is primarily that of songwriter Matthew Thomas Dillon) might lead one to think Epcot = fun and Starfields = beautiful. However, you would only have gotten one out of two. Epcot Starfields is a gorgeous album which sublimely intersperses piano and strings with Dillon's fragile voice (which is sung in a broken, spoken word-esque delivery reminiscent of The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev (both of whom it is difficult not to mention in order to draw a comparison)). What Dillon has crafted here on Epcot Starfields is an album which perfectly plays on its frailness and beauty to give the listener a true sense of the emotional swing that Dillon is going through. At times, during the whimsicalness of the tracks, the mood is light, dreamy, and even optimistic but as things build (drums make an appearance during the final minutes of the songs (ie., "Big Boom" "Epcotman") to heighten the atmosphere) so too does the inner struggles/accomplishments that Dillon seems to be dealing with. Epcot Starfields is a great album which requires not only the listener's ear and attention but also their emotions. So much so that during the album's closing moments, as Dillon pleads "let me stand still for a minute," you kind of just want to let him be and collect himself; then wrap your arms around him and congratulate him on a job well done.
4.4/5.0
Your description is dead on. Dig it. It is a kind of sparkly-sad.
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