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"Nine songs. Well written. Impeccably played. No fuss, no hassle, just wholehearted honesty. This, my dear Incendiary reader, is an indie delight...It’s the closest thing I’ve heard to Stephen Malkmus in years, only easier to digest. Wonderful stuff." - Incendiary Magazine
Mist and Mast is intelligent, flawlessly arranged and blends catchy melodies into a tranquil lo-fi masterpiece. - Record Dept.
"a sweet spell of country-tinged and harmony-heavy rock" - SF Bay Guardian
"What makes Mist and Mast a success is Lakis’ songwriting ability and musicianship. It is a surprisingly full and lush listen" - West Coast Performer
"Glorious keyboard melodies buoy the elliptical riffs in a sort of post-surf-rock brilliance." - Ink 19
"Each one of the Mist and Mast songs is painfully catchy in the best way possible. Its a treat to have this music stuck in your head!" - The Deli Magazine
5 stars. "The soft, subdued vocals work remarkably well within the framework of these intricately arranged tunes." - Babysue/LMNOP
"Lakis vocals still carry strong emotion and melody making the nine tracks worth every minute and worth a repeat listen." - The Fire Note
"[Mist and Mast] blew us away when we first heard it. It’s a very strong collection of nuanced rock-pop songs, full of great hooks and melodies and a ton of those little textured moments that separate certain singer-songwriters from the pack." - The Bay Bridged
“excellent, and only kinda crazy.” - Palebear
Press
SF Bay Guardian
Jason Lakis is proving to be his own best bandmate. The former frontperson of Bay Area country-slowcore outfit the Red Thread, which split this summer after three stellar LPs, has lately reemerged as Mist and Mast — a solo act, though you wouldn't guess it. Mist's eponymous debut, which Lakis released on his Oakland Petting Zoo label, finds the artist playing every part — and sounding sneakily like some well-rehearsed group. On "Green Eyes," say, a sweet spell of country-tinged and harmony-heavy college rock, the so-called group might be the young REM with the vocalist seeming to shy away from the mic. How like the young Michael Stipe.
Being your own full band is becoming ever easier, thanks to increasingly sophisticated home-recording options, but that doesn't make it any less weird. So when I met recently with the bespectacled, enthusiastic songwriter over Kronenbourgs at Whiskey Thieves in the Tenderloin, these were some of the first things I asked: Is it strange making music by yourself after all that time in bands? Do you even know how to play all the instruments?
"I'm not great.... I could just barely get by," Lakis said, speaking of his virtuosity, not his emotions, and reminding me that he used to drum with the late-'90s Bay Area brooders Half Film. "And I'm a big fan of the lo-fi stuff and, like, old Kinks stuff. They were great. I hate when I hear bands that just play so perfectly." He admitted that it may be a "cop-out" to prefer imperfection as an aesthetic when your skill level doesn't allow much else. But Lakis seems to come by that taste honestly, and he's put it to valid use on the record. The Kinks comment struck me because on Mist and Mast I'd heard occasional wisps of an even more affably imprecise '60s British pop act: Syd Barrett–era Pink Floyd. Though the album has little of Barrett's essential psychedelia, Mist's acoustic chords tend toward early Britpop's shambling, lullabylike quality. Certainly, Lakis was excited by the notion. "I'm a huge Floyd fan!" he exulted.
On Mist that '60s brand of slight sloppiness, whether by necessity or intent, makes an intriguing match with the more modern fumbling of Lakis's native slowcore. Textured, plunky guitars were a Red Thread centerpiece, and they remain prominent in the solo work. The album shows its devotion to the theme by opening with a casually dueling pair. And yet, absent the band, the guitars don't fix on any standard indie arrangement. They're as likely to be married to ELO-style organ ("Campfire Went Out") as rollicking folk-rock rhythms ("Eyes Adjust to the Dark").
All of this interdependence stems from a new songwriting style, which Lakis described as a gathering of discrete pieces. "It was the first group of songs where I kind of felt when I was writing like I could hear all the parts," he told me. These arrangements were originally intended for a band, but given that Lakis was conceiving all tracks in advance, the collaborative process that fueled earlier Red Thread work seemed doomed. "I'm not [someone] who can easily tell people, 'Hey, can you play this?'" the songwriter confessed. The seemingly casual recording he'd been doing in his Oakland home — "I would have my door shut, and my dog would be going grink, grink, grink at the door, and I'd have to put foamcore and a blanket up against the door, and it would get superhot in there" — suddenly became the main event.
Writing and recording piecemeal over an extended period of time and without the keel of a band and a studio can make for a messy album. And Mist and Mast is, at minimum, eclectic. The obvious outlier, "New Water," would surely have seen its programmed beats cut by another label. Lakis was fully aware of this. Rather conveniently, another thing he decided to dismiss — along with being good at everything he played — was having it all make sense together. The Red Thread albums, in contrast, were "really samey-samey," he explained. He chose to be content with Mist and Mast being, as he put it, "far from a concept album."
Was that another friendly cop-out, like calling shoddy playing charming because you "like the first Sebadoh albums"? A little, sure. But Lakis seems to be risking more by distancing himself from any single scene. How much simpler would it have been to play up the latent twang and latch onto an alt-country tag or trim a few bad moods and dub the music psych-pop? Instead, Mist and Mast feels more like a recent history of the man who made it, a trade we should be glad to make.
Incendiary Magazine
Here’s a few notes for bands that are just starting out. You don’t need to be flash. You don’t need to follow trends. You don’t need to have a gimmick. You don’t need to wear stupid clothes. You don’t need to have daft haircuts. You don’t need to make your mouth go and slag everybody off. You don’t need to come up with a bunch of singles that will fill the dancefloor if you don’t want to. You don’t need to have an ego the size of Mount Everest. You don’t have to sound like one of your favourite bands. You just need to be yourself.
Make the music you want to make. Write the songs you want to hear and write it all from your heart. Being the next best thing will only ever last so long. Just do your thing and make it something you enjoy. If you want your band to matter then it really has to matter to you. If you get all of this right, then you can pretty much choose to do any or all of the above, but please, avoid white trousers at all costs. Mist and Mast seem to have got it right. Nine songs. Well written. Impeccably played. No fuss, no hassle, just wholehearted honesty. This, my dear Incendiary reader, is an indie delight.
You’ll get the feeling that these songs are really important to Jason Lakis, for he be Mist and Mast, and what’s great is that they’re so good they may well end up meaning quite a bit to you too. There’s no hit single on here, but there isn’t a bad note on the album. If it were a friend, this album wouldn’t be the funny one who entertains everybody and is always the centre of attention, this would be the strong dependable type who’s always there to rely on. In time, this could even become your best friend, it’s that good. It’s the closest thing I’ve heard to Stephen Malkmus in years, only easier to digest. Wonderful stuff.
The Deli Magazine (Album of the month)
Since the debut album from Mist and Mast showed up here last week, it has been on literally constant rotation. I just looked at my itunes, and no joke, I've listened to the whole thing 12 times over the last four days. What else do you want me to say?
Mist and Mast is the solo project of Jason Lakis. Also a member of The Red Thread, this new project was created entirely by Jason over the last year in his Oakland apartment. The album is self titled, and is being put out on their own OPZ (Oakland Petting Zoo) label later this month.
Musically, Mist and Mast keep it pretty simple. Most of the songs are driven by layered acoustic and electric guitars, with the occasional addition of keyboards and perhaps a tambourine or two. Regular readers will know of my fondness for fellow locals The Blank Tapes. In many ways I think Mist and Mast have tapped into a similar lo fi folk pop goldmine. Each one of the Mist and Mast songs is painfully catchy in the best way possible. Its a treat to have this music stuck in your head!
Babysue/LMNOP (Rating: 5 out of 5)
Mist and Mast is the new project created by Jason Lakis who had previously released three albums under the name The Red Thread (on the Badman Recording Co. label). This is a mostly one man project recorded by Jason with the exception of a couple of keyboard and guitar parts provided by others. Our first reaction to Mist and Mast...is that this music seems a good deal more focused than the last couple of Red Thread albums that we heard. And that is a good thing...because it means Jason is allowing his music to take him into new and different territories. This self-titled album features nine tracks of thoughtful, slightly odd progressive pop. The soft, subdued vocals work remarkably well within the framework of these intricately arranged tunes. This doesn't sound like an album created to sell units...but rather an artistic creation in which Lakis is simply transferring his thoughts and feelings into music. Pensive, thoughtful cuts include "Turn Into the Turn," "Campfire Went Out," "Glass Tiles," and "Price of Fevers." Plenty of neat stuff here, it'll be interesting to see where Jason heads with the next Mist and Mast release...
The Fire Note Says: Solid debut from ex-Red Thread leader!
Mist And Mast is the new project from Jason Lakis, which you possibly might know as the leader of the critically praised indie band The Red Thread. Mist And Mast is his solo project that he has been creating since the summer of 2006. After the disbanding of The Red Thread earlier this year now is the perfect time to unleash his own material and start something completely new. What separates out this new material from The Red Thread’s catalog is that Lakis not only sings but he plays every instrument you hear on the self-titled album. Mist and Mast has that one man vibe to it and the mostly acoustic simplicity works in its favor and is completely refreshing. The key elements that Mist and Mast retain from The Red Thread is that Lakis vocals still carry strong emotion and melody making the nine tracks worth every minute and worth a repeat listen. -Reviewed by Robyn Gatsby
Key Tracks: "Turn Into The Turn", "Glass Tiles", "Campfire Went Out"
Bands With Similar Fire:
Spoon
Midlake
Beachwood Sparks
Ink 19
Rising from the remains of the California folk-pop outfit The Red Thread, Mist and Mast features Jason Lakis veering away from the more rural qualities of his former work and embracing a more ethereal edge. Ringing most of his guitar work in echo and reverb, Lakis skirts dream-pop territories, but keeps his songwriting in fairly sharp focus. Tracks like the opener "Turn Into the Turn" and "Green Eyes" come off like less intricately woven Shins' songs. It's an adequate aping, but it pales in comparison to the real thing. Numbers like "New Water" feel like a more appropriate direction for Lakis to head; it's alternately soft and lilting, hard and driving. He throws in a disco beat, cascading guitar lines, a thick bass rhythm and ups the ante until it feels as though it's on the brink of collapse. The same goes for the water-logged instrumental "Weathered," it sinks beneath waves of reverb, but glorious keyboard melodies buoy the elliptical riffs in a sort of post-surf-rock brilliance. All told, Mist and Mast is an improvement over his work in The Red Thread, but it feels like Lakis still hasn't fully hit his stride, but by moving thematically out into the ocean he's definitely getting closer.
The Owl
Mist and Mast is the solo project of Oakland-based singer-songwriter Jason Lakis, formerly of the band The Red Thread. His debut album contains nine straightforward, low-key pop songs with strong melodies that will work their way into your head if you give them the chance. Although Lakis now performs with a band, he recorded the entire album himself, and while the songs tend to be simple in structure, the instrumentation is often complex and layered, with multiple guitar and keyboard lines interacting with each other and Lakis' gentle vocals multiplying into lush harmonies. Several of the tracks feature guitar playing similar to that of Elliott Smith's more upbeat work. Highlights include "Campfire Went Out," "Eyes Adjust to the Dark" and "New Water."
Palebear
If I was getting paid to review music, I would characterize this album as “excellent, and only kinda crazy.” Just kidding. Well, only half kidding. Since it IS true I’m not being paid. But it isn’t true the music is crazy. It’s just that Jason Lakis, formerly of The Red Thread (who I know nothing about) has a knack for turning what might be ordinary delicious indiefolk into songs that are just a little bit off-kilter sounding.
I actually think it’s the strange and frequent chord changes that give the music that sound. I kind of like it - it certainly kept me awake slogging through the piles of CDs on the desk. The songs absolutely refuse to sit still. Without the added strangeness it might be like Jon Brion or Matthew Sweet or - just pick a popster. At times it sort of reminds me of Nyles Lannon. I suspect with further (I mean more than ONE) listens this album will get even better. Definitely on my “bands to watch” radar…
West Coast Performer
If there’s one thing that music technology has afforded over the last few years, it’s the ability for songwriters to have total control over their product. With consumer-level recording equipment that allows musicians of average means to construct in-home studios, self-produced and arranged albums such as Jason Lakis’ Mist and Mast are fast becoming the norm.
What makes Mist and Mast a success is Lakis’ songwriting ability and musicianship. It is a surprisingly full and lush listen considering the former Red Thread frontman recorded it in his apartment, playing all of the instruments himself. The songs have an incredibly nostalgic groove and would have easily felt at home in the college rock explosion of the mid-’90s.
Most of the tracks feature noodling guitar lines weaving in and out of each other with grand keyboards generally providing the melody and effective, simple drumming. All of this underscores Lakis’ dry, unaffected delivery. His voice seems droning at times, but this makes for an easy, smooth listen.
The standout track of the album is “Eyes Adjust to the Dark,” which gathers steam with an excitable tambourine and Lakis’ vocals expertly double-tracked. It is a song full of pop culture references - like Brian Eno and the Museum of Modern Art - that finishes in a flurry of precise drumming and synthesized piano. The disorientation caused by the double-tracked vocals and guitars keeps listeners on their toes and draws attention to the intricate melodies created when a guitarist battles with himself. There does, however, seem to be a general lack of urgency on the album, primarily in the lyrics. It is difficult to discern exactly what these songs are about, but that may be because Lakis’ vocals, while compelling in sound, get a little bit lost in the mix.
Though it doesn’t break any new ground, Mist and Mast is an intriguing listen that should have fans of the musical auteur excited and interested.
The Bay Bridged
Over five years, Oakland’s The Red Thread won acclaim for three albums of lush Americana-touched California pop. After the band had its final performance earlier this year, singer-guitarist Jason Lakis soon announced the release of a debut album from his solo project, Mist and Mast. As Lakis explained during the interview, the album Mist and Mast is a collection of songs written during his tenure in his former band, songs that didn’t feel right for The Red Thread.
Recording all of the parts himself in his Oakland home studio over the course of a year, the resulting album blew us away when we first heard it. It’s a very strong collection of nuanced rock-pop songs, full of great hooks and melodies and a ton of those little textured moments that separate certain singer-songwriters from the pack. Judging by the feedback we’ve seen online, it’s an album that should please Red Thread fans and new listeners alike. As members of the latter group, it’s leading us to go back and listen to a band we’d previously overlooked.
Although Mist and Mast was recorded solo, Lakis has assembled a group of talented musicians to bring these songs to the live setting, a process which, as we learned, has resulted in further evolution for these pieces. We’re looking forward to seeing the full band at their next live performance, next weekend at the Hemlock:
Wiretap Music
Mist and Mast’s self-titled debut, released on their own Oakland Petting Zoo label, is an impeccably made indie folk rock record. Jason Lakis wrote and recorded the entire album himself during and after his time in The Red Thread, his now-defunct former band. Though Mist and Mast was entirely written and performed by one person, the record never gets stale or boring, and never plods its way through uninspired filler. Rather, it cleverly weaves a mix of styles and layers lush keyboards, bass, and guitars underneath Lakis’ soft, almost whispery vocals so finely that the album sounds crafty and fresh throughout.
Like all good albums, there’s plenty of interesting influences worked in, or sometimes even just subtly suggested. Opener “Turn into the Turn” has a psychedelic blues lick thrown over some glockenspiel at one point, while the rest of the song moves along like Elliot Smith jamming with Yo La Tengo. “Green Eyes” employs surfy guitar licks. “Glass Tiles” recalls shoegazery folk a la the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The interlude to “Campfire Went Out” is a slow-burning psychedelic passage worthy of the Grateful Dead. “Weathered” starts off with dark, Sleater-Kinneyesque dual guitars, then drifts to an end with a dreamy, somnambulant electric piano. Finally, acoustic ballad “Price of Fevers” rides a wave of cool organ to the album’s close. Listening to it, you never know what turn the album will take next. Yet, despite its unpredictability, there’s always a warm, California poppy feel to it all, like you’ve known these songs for years.
Lakis has assembled a live band and is currently playing out around the Bay Area. Mist and Mast is so full of creative songwriting, I can’t wait to hear how a whole band of musicians interprets the material. Check the band's Shows page for upcoming dates!