In 2019, Physical Therapy released the compilation It Takes A Village: The Sounds Of Physical Therapy, a showcase of the astute yet forceful dance music Daniel Fisher crafts under that alias. As Car Culture, however, he takes a different route. Discogs lists Rest Here under the genres neofolk and downtempo – a classification that makes sense, given that over the course of the album Fisher gathers a circle of producers likewise working away from the dancefloor: Patrick Holland, formerly known as Project Pablo; Francis Latreille, aka Prior; and Giovanni Nadal, aka J. Albert. Add vocalists Ms. Ray and Squirrel Flower, both adept at turning chillout tracks into trip-hop songs in the vein of James K., and the picture sharpens.
Which brings us to the title track, combining reverberant vocals with a classic downtempo beat and guitar chords that recall MLK. Guitars also define the opener »Rockland County«, whose title nods to Fisher’s adopted home, having relocated from Queens. At some point, a voice drifts in from the background, delivering lines such as »I remember swimming in the ocean / We were all having fun«.
It is little wonder that this album has struck such a chord. It is permeated by that distinct North American–Canadian aesthetic of environmental music, one that treats pastel-hued, nostalgic memories as an inexhaustible source of contentment. And if, as on »Fizzle«, you happen to lose your way for a moment, it is no disaster. It will pass. Like everything.
Rest Here
