By Harry McCarthy ’13, Staff Writer

As life and love loaded on the stress in heavy doses this fall, I turned to music (as usual) to find refuge.  There are only a few albums that I consider integral parts of my musical knowledge, and Blithe Field’s “Beautiful Wave ’74” is one of the best.  Striking the perfect balance between relaxing repetition and interesting change, the album creates a unique fusion between the anesthetizing and the mind-expanding.  With such an impressive sound, it’s surprising that Blithe Field is, in fact, one man, nineteen-year-old Spencer Radcliffe of Ohio.  Even at his young age, he has perfected the delicate science of creating and mixing samples.  As the relaxing island-style kettledrum melody of the opening track “vacation” gradually fades into the beautiful synth wave of “Bible School,” it is easy to see that this album is a rare find.  “Bible School” is the first example of true artistic genius that can be found on “Beautiful Wave ’74,” pairing a one-of-a-kind melody with a spectacularly well-refined drum pattern that calms and excites at the same time.  Another highlight and personal favorite of mine is “Duck” which pulls its unique vocal sample from an episode of “That 70’s Show.”  Despite this strange artistic choice, “Duck” truly shines as the best of the best on “Beautiful Wave ’74.” With its incredible guitar sample mixed with an almost surgically precise beat, it repeatedly reminds me of why music is such an amazing thing.  It has this power to make you forget about all the truly arbitrary things in life and carry you to a beautiful state of mind, a musical nirvana if you will.  Blithe Field’s “Beautiful Wave ‘74” did this for me in spades the first time I heard it way back in 2010, and I am confident it will continue to do so for many years to come.

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5 Out of 5 Stars

PS: You can listen to and download the entire album here.  It’s FREE and legal, but I implore you to pay something to support this amazing artist.

Key Tracks

Bible School

Duck

Ghost Riding The Whip