Dylan Golden Aycock’s latest release, No New Summers, is a moving collection of cosmic country sound sculptures that all center around the theme of reminiscing about early sensory memories.

Rich in the melancholic nostalgia of childhood summers and other youthful joys gone by, Aycock’s ambient folk soundscapes speak to a universal sense of longing for simpler, more magical times. These stoically beautiful pieces convey a complicated ever-shifting range of subtle emotions, and yet all without the use of lyrics. This really speaks to Aycock’s tight, emotive musicianship and his mastery of manipulating and sculpting together sounds into a soulful piece of sonic art.

The album finds the Tulsa-based artist and Scissortail Records owner playing guitar, upright bass and pedal steel in unorthodox ways to generate unique tones and textures, while layering them in found sounds and field recordings. It took Aycock 12 years of compiling and building upon the various recordings that make up this album, and you can truly feel in the music how much of a labor of love this project really was. Every note, every vibration feels so carefully intentional and fully saturated in the artist’s heart. You really feel as though you’re by extension becoming part of Aycock’s experience of reliving the atmosphere and emotions of wandering around the streets of his childhood with his friends. In turn, as you listen to this environmental record with all of its cinematic vastness and touching melodies, you can easily find yourself thinking back to the wide-eyed days of your own youth. By the end of the record, don’t be surprised if you’re longing for a time when exploring your neighborhood made the world feel a little bigger and the soft glow of fireflies and street lights meant it was time to go home.

Click here to get a copy of this album on vinyl through Feeding Tube if you’re in America, or here on Worried Songs if you’re in the UK.

-KH