Album Review: Watter 'History Of The Future' LP

In 2014 the Louisville instrumental group Watter broke onto the scene with the highly regarded 7 track "This World" LP on Jeremy DeVine's Temporary Residence record label. The 3 piece band consisting of Multi-instrumentalist Zak Riles (of Grails), drummer Britt Walford (of Evergreen, Breeders), and Tyler Trotter embody an indie rock supergroup; emboldened by their 2015 conceptual album with Bonnie "prince" Billy, The Devil Is People, under the name Bonnie Stillwatter.



Watter's place in Louisville music history will be solidified when their 2nd LP, History Of The Future is released on October 20th (also on Temporary Residence).

 At its core History builds on the lightly woven soundscape laid out on This World but is more dynamic sonically; borrowing from many genres including math rock, jazz, dream pop, electronic, and classical among others. "History" also takes on qualities of a film score; as if David Lynch and John Carpenter made a soundtrack backed by The Drift  and produced by Johnny Jewel (Symmetry, Chromatics).

The first 3 tracks are heavily influenced by Carpenter, especially the opener Telos, and mirror the soundtracks to Halloween or Assault On Precinct 13 with driving deep bass tones and ominous synthesizers before the album reaches a melodic center and settles into the calm Watter tones found on This World.



The list of guest appearances on History are a venerable Who's Who of Louisville legends, including Dom Cipola (Phantom Family Halo),  Todd Cook (Jaye Jayle), Nathan Salsburg, and Rachel Grimes (Rachel's). Grimes influence is especially present on the last track, Final Sunrise, an uplifting piano driven track that would be right at home on one of Grimes' solo efforts.

Overall, History Of The Future takes the listener on a sonic tour of the instrumentalist playbook, incorporating audio clips, live instrumentation, and a plethora of synthesized emotions. History is a must have for fans of Louisville's early 1990s experimental heyday and will no doubt find it's place on many End-of-the-Year critics lists. 

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