Daily Jam - Alleluia

Somewhere in the west, on a dusty plain, the glare from the sun giving everything a dreamlike haze through the vivid colors of the day, two gunmen make their stand, ready to draw against the other, all the while a mysterious drifter plays an ominous harmonica tune in the background. Tensions are high, the air is heavy, guns are pulled, shots are fired, and one gunfighter falls. The lone survivor surveys his deed, utters not a word, mounts his white horse, and silently moves through the still scene, past the quiet outpost town, and onward towards the pink and snow-tipped mountains. Flies gather, the sun hangs overhead, and music plays to fade out.

To my knowledge, Indiana band Odawas have never scored a Spaghetti Western (or any kind of film for that matter), but someone should probably ask them to. The group have a knack for atmosphere, generated by their thick and airy mix of psych rock, ambient, dreampop, and folk music that practically begs for accompanying visuals. "Alleluia," from 2007's Raven and The White Night feels like some heady and somber combination of Ennio Morricone and John Hughes, dreamy synth strings floating beneath a folky guitar riff, mournful, echoed vocals, lyrics alluding to passing on into the afterlife, and that lonesome, whistled refrain. It's hard not to recall some old Western when hearing it, an unnamed, black clad anti-hero travelling into the sunset, a world of wreckage behind him.

Fade to black.

Listen below, our Daily Jam.