Orb Weaver

Most of the songs on this album were written during a time when the economy was declining and our whole world, it seemed, was turning around. We gave up our apartment, sold most of our belongings, and lived in a trailer on the road. At times we parked on the streets in San Francisco, at times we fled to the mountains, at times we were awoken in the middle of the night by cops and ticketed for sleeping. It was an adventurous time, and we managed to do quite a bit of touring during that time - especially in the pacific northwest. The album was recorded by different friends in different locations around the northwest. 'A great guitar tone built of longing and disappointment... with the counterpoint of Knowles' voice, they combine to rail against the darkness, emptiness of the great open spaces and solitude of the road. At times, his guitar thunders above her drums-at other moments, her keyboards add an orchestral atmosphere. Occasionally, the sound is like the ebb and flow of the tide-perhaps that water on the horizon is a desert mirage? They are actually anything but emotionally callow. It's really about his voice and what he is saying with it, which is considerable.' - Brian Staker, SLUG Magazine Red Moses (Vocals/Guitar) and Sami Knowles (keys, percussion, vocals) are Callow, a singer-songwriter two-piece from the black depths of the ocean. Often with only one floor tom, Sami will keep a steady percussive pace through entire songs, reminding one of the implacable rise and fall of the tides. Red and his guitar croon over the deep-yet-simplistic music, seeming to explore humanity's heartache, it's soul-searching, and it's sorrow. Rarely does Chico get to witness something so honest, simple, and rich as San Francisco's Callow. It's kind of like watching a time-lapse of clouds skate over a lonely mountain range, and it feels a little bit like Sigur Ros, if they were American and sang with a little bit of cowboy-twang in their voices. - Alex Light, Synthesis Weekly From the sparse and atmospheric opening minutes of the album, Callow clearly focus on texture and dynamics in their song-writing, featuring subtle harmonies featuring male and female vocals which work well to provide emotional depths to the proceedings. If forced, I would suggest Orb Weaver falls somewhere between doom rock and folk music, with soft piano melodies providing a backdrop to sparse guitar passages and brooding vocals suggestive of sorrow and reminiscence.' - Robbie, Indie Bands Blog Won't sober up lovesick music listeners like garden-variety pop songs would, but serves more as a hair-of-the-dog cure and further inebriates them via beautiful minimalistic slowcore. It's relieving to hear a rock band coming out of San Francisco that separates itself from the pretentious rock herd - Gregory Gerulat, SLUG Magazine.