Davis Leaves Drum Kit For Elegant Patterns

4/5 Stars

When local faves Milemarker left Chapel Hill for the greener post-rock pastures of Chicago last summer, drummer Ben Davis stayed behind. Letting the band that he had helped found in 1997 move on to bigger things without him couldn't have been easy - but Davis wanted to remain in Chapel Hill to raise his newborn son.

And what began when he started to write songs for the piano alone in his bedroom soon evolved into a full-fledged ensemble. Davis rounded up an all-star cast of Chapel Hill up-and-comers - including the Comas' Nicole Gehweiler and Matt Long of the Mayflies U.S.A. - and solicited both their creative input and their musical talents.

The end result is The Hushed Patterns of Relief, a lushly orchestrated but melancholy collection of tracks that comes across as a very personal reflection of a turbulent time in Davis' life. (He states as much in the liner notes and reinforces it in his doleful lyrics.)

Fans used to Davis behind the drum set may be surprised at his talent as a songwriter and frontman - and at the considerably less frenetic nature of his music as compared to his previous bands. Whereas Milemarker and Davis' earlier outfit, Sleepytime Trio, were both on the loud and frenzied side of the musical spectrum, his solo work is quiet and introspective.

Davis has crafted a set of melodic, piano-based songs whose occasional repetitiveness is offset by intricate instrumentation - his companions add cello, organ and a Rhodes synthesizer to the standard rock lineup. Davis' lap steel guitar is lovely on "Misdirection," and the Rhodes works to good effect on the sorrowful "Wrestling Won't Help." The album's piano accompaniment and plaintive tone is sometimes reminiscent of West Coast indie stars Death Cab for Cutie, but not in a derivative way.

Stand-out tracks include the beautiful, swelling "Poised and Determined:" "In a hushed room I stood to my feet/ Poised and determined to make this exit neat/ And there's another exciting chase scene I see/ And you seem to be starring in it with me."

The symphonic "Coats Need Rest Too" and "Your Terms Are Now Mine" are likewise gorgeous and fervent. The album is well-produced without being over-produced, and these slow, dreamy dirges are a fresh departure from the high-octane pop that has been occupying the spotlight in Chapel Hill for the past couple of years.

In light of this, while The Hushed Patterns of Relief is both heartfelt and intense, it's not exactly stimulating - this isn't music for a sunny afternoon, unless maybe you hate sunny afternoons. It lends itself more to listening in the contemplative fashion that Davis wrote it - alone, in a bedroom, late at night.

Ashley Atkinson can be reached at cosmic@email.unc.edu.