For Les.

Mid 2011, I interviewed The Wooden Birds. Amongst the questions, Leslie Sisson answered that her debut solo album, Harmony, was looking for a home. It was great album, finding its way in the wilderness in 2012.

Jump a couple of years into the future. A broken PhD that had to be abandoned. Life plans falling apart. Stuck nowhere, but still with a pass for SXSW 2014. So I catch Moving Panoramas on Wednesday and managed to secure an interview -allegedly their first!- in a coffee shop near the motel 6 I was staying at.

After the interview is over, Leslie invites me over to the Workhorse bar, where we have a couple of beers and talk about the 90s. It’s a great talk and Rooster played on the jukebox. The Texas sunset was as beautiful as you can imagine it, with hues of magenta, violet, pink, and light grey. Couple of months later, and Leslie would send over a pre-release copy of Moving Panoramas’ debut. It was crisp, dreamy, and as truthful as it comes.

We’ve kept in touch over the years, sharing grief about pets, stories about stuff we cherish from the past, and wishing the best each year. There are recordings for a new Moving Panoramas album, so album número tres can’t be too far from us.

I’ve chosen Radar because it can summarise -deceptively- Moving Panorama’s MO. Relaxed pace, akin to Galaxie 500 and Yo La Tengo. Whispered, ethereal vocals, like country pop of late 70s AOR strain. And Hazy, the dog, stealing the show.

Keeping today’s post brief, I’m gonna let the song speak for itself. Thanks for your friendship, Les, may we keep gossiping for long.

-Sam J. Valdés López