Together by Message to Bears and Will Samson is the gentlest, most relaxing release that the Album Leaf never made. It is everything I want out of calming music: an aura of peace while deceptively keeping the tempo moving through subtle percussion, sneaky entrances and exits, and careful restraint. This, like all calming music, is a masterpiece of restraint: any of these moments could have soared into a huge crescendo, and they don’t. Instead, they reveal the moment of gold that each track has in it (see “Saola” for a perfect example of this), and then slowly disappear.
While this is primarily an acoustic-guitar-based record with the rest of the instruments in support, they mix things up from track to track by keeping the keys and beats in different tones (very smart). Yet through all of their variations, changes, and tempo moving, they remain peaceful to the core. If you’re looking for something beautiful, calming, and deceptively expert in its songwriting, Together is the EP you need. I can’t get enough of it. Fans of the chill parts of Teen Daze will love it. Mad props. Highly recommended.