Mean Sea Level have captured a singular experience on their new, self-titled release; that of lying on cool grass besides the campfire as darkness falls. Staring into the sky, slowly carried upwards by the flickering firelight and entering the night, the stars turn from brilliant diamond points to a vast blanket of luminescent heaven. The band summons these sensations by blending together two distinct traditions in popular folk music: the back-porch authenticity of whiskey-soaked strumming that stretches deep into the American past and has recently manifested itself in artists like Will Oldham and Sam Beam, and the expansively lyrical psychedelic-folk first pioneered by Bert Jansch and Nick Drake.

Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.