Hello Dear Wind sees compelling, poetic, mysterious lyrics set to sweet and gentle melodies sung primarily by Michael Nau, with big beautiful female harmonies by Whitney McGraw, backed up by magnificent production centered around acoustic guitar with nice subtle additions of bells and shakers, easy-breezy kick drums and flower-power tambourines. Haight-Ashbury love-in harmonies soar ever upwards to the heavens throughout Hello Dear Wind, while reverby, echoing, backwards guitars add to the dreamy quality of the album, and tinkering hammered tines sweeten the sound still further.
I don't know if it's possible to talk about this album as a series of songs, because the sound is so consistent from start to finish that Hello Dear Wind comes off as a singular work of art in the same way that say Pet Sounds or any number of other classic albums do. Various lines and words recur throughout the album, tying it together even further.
If I were to single out songs, the tune that I would choose first for a mix tape would inevitably be "Jesus". Opening with a droning organ sound, the song starts picking up energy with Nau singing oblique lines about Jesus coming up from the ground covered in dirt and worms, a sword in his side, dancing and offering wine.
Speaking of Jesus, there's a strong Christian theme running through the lyrics – resurrection, floods, cherubs, angels – but it's unclear whether or not they're the product of fervent devotion or just the fanciful imagery that the great songwriters have been wont to employ, especially considering the charming way that they're juxtaposed with secular lines about trampolines, junkyards, and circus composers like the one sung up in another of the album's finest songs, "Bush".
It's apt for Page France to sing of circuses and their composers: the music often has a dreamy carnival quality, from the tinkly xylophones, to the oompah beats that encourage a comparison to Of Montreal's Gay Parade but the difference between Page France and much of the Elephant Six output is that while the E6 tended to stick resolutely to a period sound, Page France freely incorporates various decades of production technique to build their sound: from the sixties love-in parade vibes that permeate so much of the album, to the pretty eighties echoing guitars shimmering with modern reverbs, and the indiepop sounds of the nineties, the sound has many individually recognizable elements but as a whole it's very distinct and very, very good.
"Glue" is another of the album's strongest tracks, once again employing a vaguely religious-sounding lyric singing praise to someone, but it sounds like more like praise to a lover than the Lord. These biblical references continue through "Up" with its' references to burning bushes and "Finders" with its trumpets and saviors.
"Finders" is yet another of the best songs... I feel like I'm saying that about every track on the album.... and probably I am, because it’s that good; a very pretty, and memorable acoustic guitar part is laid over an ambient recording of people hanging out and chatting with an extremely beautiful male/female vocal duet.
If you were as crazy as I was for the Elephant Six Sound or Beulah or any of the soft sunshine-psyche legends, this is essential listening. Michael Nau, the man behind Page France, has a gift for words, melody and production that alone would make this a great album of four-track soft-psyche, but the wonderful contributions from friends, namely the gorgeous female vocal harmonies by Whitney McGraw, help bring Page France out of the bedroom and out into the street with caftans and tambourines, and on to the shores of great rivers singing praise and holy holy.
