Stag Hare, we hardly knew you. Saying farewell to any artist we love is
always a hard thing, and it’s no less difficult realizing that this is Willow
Skye-Biggs’s last go-round under the current moniker. Stag Hare has always been
such a go-to concept for melancholy ambient tunes, and it’s also been the
obviously-in-love-with-humanity celebration soundtrack for the meditative set
(see, specifically, the 4CS set Tapestry),
so it stands to reason that there’s no shortage of contemplative electronics
and synthesizer flourishes on STARLIGHTS GLOOM. Recorded with Skye-Biggs’s son
in mind over a period of multiple years, the tracks on STARLIGHTS GLOOM pulse
with nocturnal energy, flitting through forest clearings like pixies in search
of mischief. This quick-moving Stag Hare is somewhat unusual given the slower
burn of earlier releases, but the 4/4 rhythms and indebtedness to an
environmental, arboreal vitality is a welcome diversion, and a fitting
endpoint. Even with the beats and periodic vocals, this Stag Hare release
retains the classic Stag Hare hallmarks: an embrace of the natural world, of
people, of peace, and a musical color palette that’s inviting and mesmerizing
all at once. As with most Inner Islands
releases, STARLIGHTS GLOOM is an inward-facing document, but it’s the one
closest to realizing personal wholeness and bursting outward to engage more
than just the self. Knowing that, I can’t wait to hear what Willow Skye-Biggs
comes up with next. What, did you think that just because she gave up the Stag
Hare name that she’d simply disappear into the ether? You’d be dead wrong!
(Well, I hope you would be anyway. Here’s to more music!)
--Ryan Masteller
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