ACL Artist Spotlight: Balmorhea

In this day and age, a band that can stop you in your tracks and inspire intense, close listening is rarer than rare, but Austin’s Balmorhea repeatedly stuns. And in a city rife with noisy dive bars, noisier bands, and heated arguments about decibel levels, Balmorhea are content to simmer instead of explode.

Starting out as a small recording project between the band’s principals, Rob Lowe and Michael Muller, Balmorhea soon blossomed into a full-fledged instrumental ensemble with the release of All Is Wild, All Is Silent in 2009. The album found the band improbably combining both classical and folk elements to create an album that’s remarkable in its freshness. Balmorhea don’t need words to tell a story—;All Is Wild slowly loped through the West Texas wilderness with the aid of acoustic guitar, banjo, and a small orchestra.

This year’s Constellations proves that the group has nowhere to go but up. A new instrument was added to the fold: silence. The band’s use of negative space elevates these minimal compositions into otherworldly territory, sounding equally intimate and bigger-than-life. Their songs are often described as cinematic, but they don’t need to rely on visuals for resonance. Balmorhea’s albums stand on their own as perfect soundtracks to patient moments.

Tension is a big ingredient to the band’s sound, and it certainly could be in the air during their early Saturday morning ACL Fest set. Their music might be too subtle for a festival crowd and the myriad outdoor distractions. Yet the group seems to thrive amidst contradictions. If any band can weather the storm that is ACL, it would be Balmorhea.

Balmorhea: [Official] [Myspace]