“These Fields of Sorrow,” the opening track on Mark Steven Hillstrom’s EP Chase the Clouds, leads with a string section that recalls Robert Kirby’s arrangements on Nick Drake’s classic album. Use of atmospheric reverb and sense of space give the songs a cinematic quality. To his credit, Hillstrom allows arranger/cellist Heather Watney plenty of room and this alchemy turns the humble folk tunes into something with a fair dose of gravitas.
Similar to Hillstrom’s 2016 release From The Mountain You Can See The Hills, the anthropomorphic subject matter here mixes regret and longing with fields, crows, swaying reeds and elk. If this comes off like a partial soundtrack, it may not be out of the question for Hillstrom of revisit these tunes in a more full-blown project.
