Heavily influenced by The Slip and Bela Fleck, A Troop of Echoes is aptly named for their style. Inherently emotional, pensive, and sometimes haunting, this album sounds like a melancholy rendition of a faraway memory. Recorded in a former brewery in Providence, RI and mixed by a producer specializing in metal bands, and mastered in Chicago, this album has passed through many hands to form a unique sound. The Longest Year on Record is all instrumental, and with nine songs that are mostly over six minutes long, it’s experimental rock fusion that still retains a composed sensibility.
The first song, “Manifest and Legion” sets the tone for the rest of the album. It starts off slow and a little introspective, then unexpectedly delves into rock. Simultaneously intense and sweet like eating a Sour Patch Kid, this song holds a certain charm ending with a slightly militaristic sounding drum roll.
Next is “Small Fires” where the opening notes sound like they could be from The Pixies. The song begins with a psychedelic sounding saxophone which carries throughout. The saxophone is especially prevalent in this song and adds an upbeat, even triumphant sentiment. “Small Fires” has the kind of melody that you could easily find yourself humming along to.
In the beginning of “Acrecibo” the drums retain a bit of a militaristic sound, following in line with “Manifest and Legion”. The beginning of this song in particular sounds very methodic like a nostalgic slow dance. It unfurls itself into something quite pretty, the bass line leading the way.
“Kerosene”, the halfway point of The Longest Year on Record is the first song on the album that features string instruments. The glockenspiel really shines on this track in its mixture with the strings. “Kerosene” is a song that is rife with its own personality. It holds an intrinsic curiosity, and sounds like it could be lifted from a movie soundtrack.
“Constellation” and “The Longest Year on Record” are two of the strongest tracks on this record. Both are skillfully composed, delicate, and slightly wistful. “Constellation” resembles its title, both contemplative and poignant. Perfect for stargazing, its smooth amalgamation of sounds. This song has great transitions, each instrument coalescing together to create something larger. “The Longest Year on Record”, is the title track and represents what the crux of this album is all about. The softness of this song is highlighted by the saxophone’s trilling notes. The subtle bass line and the complex layering of sounds gives this song a slightly redemptive feel. It features a great buildup into a slightly angelic ending.
The pinnacle of instrumental music is that it’s so conducive to different interpretations. That is what is so great about this album. Musically, it’s dynamic and the production value is evident in the fact that it just sounds good. The Longest Year on Record seems like it could even be one continuous song that just happened to be broken into parts. This is A Troop of Echoes second record, and after listening to this, I’m looking forward to their next release.
Key Tracks: Small Fires, Kerosene, Constellation
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One can see why they have been welcomed with such great acceptance in blues-aware England and played with T-Model Ford in the Delta. They have been awarded first place in the On The Rise competition at the 2014 Floydfest and are currently number one across the board on 
Touring in support of Phosphorescent Harvest The CRB, as they are known by their fanbase, played a few highlights of the album with “Meanwhile in the Gods…” and “Jump the Turnstiles” in the first set. The band was tight throughout the evening, which was great to see as they are breaking in new drummer Tony Leone. Sometimes when bands change members it takes a while to gel as a group, but The CRB was in fine form. Chris Robinson was in vocally great, as he always is, and even showed off some impressive guitar playing from time to time. Neal Casal handled much of the work on the guitar and it was wonderful to listen to his playing all night. He can solo with the best of them, but can also intricately shape songs without taking over the whole sound. “Tulsa Yesterday” closed the first set out with a thrilling jam that was a preview of what the meat of second set was going to be.
After a short break they came back out and hit the ground running with “Try Rock & Roll”. Everyone in Bearsville was tuned in to what the band was giving them and smiles were seen on everyone’s face, including the band between songs. Adam MacDougall seemed to be steering the jamming ship throughout the second set with some great work on the keys. The psychedelia was strong from his side of the stage and only pushed the others to join in. Chris Robinson is of course no stranger to that sound, so it was easy to see why he recruited Adam into the band. Mark Dutton may have gone unnoticed by many throughout the evening on the bass, but he has mastered being the grounding sound during the intense jams that happened. The biggest jam of the night took place during “Vibration & Light” that bled into “Hard to Handle” with a beautiful transition. The two songs were great, but the middle area where the band got weird and just jammed for a while was the clear highlight of the evening. This was followed by “Rosalee” where they once again went off the rails of the traditional song and let the space around them dictate where the song would go. Coming back with a live debut cover of Van Morrison’s “Call me up in Dreamland” was a fitting end to the evening.
Set 1: Good Rockin’ Tonight, Jump the Turnstile, Shore Power, Roane Country Blues, Star or Stone, Meanwhile in the Gods…, Tulsa Yesterday
