Album Review: us & sparkles – When The Birds Kick In

A red sun sparkles through heaven’s space with a slate-colored haze: When The Bird Kicks In marks the departure towards a new vibe within the us & sparkles universe: warm pigments, woody ambiences and an overall witty attitude lay the ground for a psychedelic trip across a wild west inspired soundscape.

The air shines dense and muggy: An ambient and guitar driven opening evolves continuously into a more and more dancy tonality. Glow and glare and rolling flames stream upwards as melodies there to stay. Specially the ever-present synthesizer-background-howling makes a significant contribution to the compositions on the album, which are generous, nostalgic and authentic. An all-gracious sun-God looks directly into the light.

Check Out ‘Harry Strawberry’ from the album:

Us & sparkles is the electronica-enterprise of Roland Vollenweider, who also plays and releases under his techno-moniker v0ll. Beyond his music he works as psychoanalytic psychotherapist and studied literature and philosophy in Zurich, Switzerland. The project us & sparkles was originally founded as a duo and showed its first EP “damn rich 1” 10 years ago. The album “When the Bird Kicks In” is a collaboration
between Roland Vollenweider and Simon Boss and marks the third full length album of the project.

Verdict: ‘When The Birds Kick In‘ delivers a wonderful blend of laid back electric guitar, electronic beats and samples, all on a bed of soothing synth layers. The beautifully crafted instrumentals wash over you like a dream, each track guiding you down a winding path, the way illuminated by delicate sun rays, evoking feelings of peace and serenity. ‘us & sparkles‘ manage to create an album that has a very meditative quality, all the elements perfectly balanced within the arrangements and workiing in harmony with each other. Turn on, Tune in and let it chill.

Track List:

1. Overture
2. Okay Panettone
3. Pink Hornet
4. Harry Strawberry
5. Le Vin
6. Der Kranich
7. When The Birds Kick In
8. Epilogue, Outro and Everything Between

All tracks written by Roland Vollenweider & Simon Boss except “When The Birds Kick in” by Roland Vollenweider, Simon Boss & Chineyem Okolo

Available Now @ https://usandsparkles.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-birds-kick-in