Brandon Wiarda can light up and embolden a song in innumerable ways, but rarely has his music been as focused and exuberant as it is here. Of course, there would be no way anyone would know that: after a dozen years of recording songs, melodies, and soundscapes for no one but himself and a few close friends arrives 'Repetition for a Motion,' his first official album. Recorded among farms, apartmen
ts, and bedrooms throughout Minnesota, Wiarda, working under the name Oriel, borrows a basic template of folk music from lost and forgotten masters of the craft. Though his songs begin with this broad form, a series of evolutionary jumps take place as his acoustic guitar is spun through effect pedals and field recordings while comingling with more instruments than there are words in this paragraph. The palette of sources is wide and varied throughout: a swarm of percussion floods ‘Come by Morning,’ a blend of acoustic shoegaze clings to ‘Hold in Tongues,’ and a thick flourish of bells and electronics dominate ‘Repetition/Wedding Bells.’ A vast understanding of the multi-track recording studio is palpable, with the end result being a vibrant tapestry of song and sound.
