_{By Michael Luce}

Today I want to introduce you to one of my favorite albums of all time that I can almost guarantee you’ve never heard of.

Blank Faces is the first (and at the time of writing, the only) full-length album from Static to the Sound, brainchild of singer-songwriter Austin Eckel, and serves mostly as a compilation of the music he had been working on in the years after shifting into a more collaborative space. It was quietly released, mostly to family and friends, on August 20, 2015, which makes today the tenth anniversary, and I wanted to celebrate.

Austin and I lived in the same hometown in Ohio, and I grew up looking up to him like the big brother I never had. I even got his hand-me-downs since his family didn’t have another son to pass them to. His mom handing me a CD one week after church, telling me Austin wanted me to have a copy, is still a very vivid memory for me. Even though I knew Austin wasn’t a “real” rock star, I still felt like I was part of an exclusive inner circle.

Musically, Static to the Sound is a project that wears its influences on its sleeve. Piano-laden indie rock tracks call back to Andrew McMahon and his projects like Jack’s Mannequin and Something Corporate. It’s like Coldplay or Death Cab for Cutie with a healthy splash of that 2010’s youthful optimism instead of post-9/11 gloom. The song structures and writing range from conventional, almost cliche to one-of-a-kind and unexpected, eschewing any sort of expectation of what an amateur release is “supposed to” sound like.

As is to be expected, the album isn’t perfect like your big-budget rock groups or start-to-end cohesive like your favorite concept album. But it’s pure and genuine. It speaks to a moment in time where music suddenly became accessible to everyone, both to produce and to consume, thanks to the internet.

Lest we forget the name of this publication, the album is also quintessential Provo, arguably a sort of ‘proto-Provocore.’ Songs about leaving the ones you love to go on an LDS mission as well as the experiences of said mission pepper the tracklist. “In the Sky” is a hopelessly romantic song about two people living in the same city but unable to see each other finding solace and connection in knowing that if they look at the moon at the same time, it’s the same for both of them. (Hint: BYU and the MTC are right next to each other.)

While these aren’t mainstream anthems you’ll hear blasting out of car windows or hummed along to at department stores, these songs are inseparably connected to the last decade of my life. There are very distinct memories associated with each one – driving to school with the acoustic rendition of “Goodbye Michelle” blasting in my barely-functional Jeep and my sister and I screaming along to the lyrics despite the unholy hour of day; hearing the studio version of “In the Sky” for the first time after months of listening to the demo Austin had sent me (and mourning the vocal and guitar parts that got cut); getting frustrated “The Way You Dance” wasn’t available anywhere online besides iTunes and uploading my first-ever YouTube video so I could share it with friends; trying my hand at mixing the album version of “Ghost of Love” with the piano version uploaded to SoundCloud to make an “extended cut” –

At the risk of sounding corny, this album represents every stage of my music-related journey to where I am now.

This isn’t even my first time writing about Blank Faces, as one of my first-ever ventures into journalism was an interview with Austin about the album for a long-since-deleted post to my high school’s digital newspaper, eSomethin. (Unfortunately for you and me both, the Internet Archive decided it was worth preserving, so you can read the interview if you really like reading high-school level writing.)

Just like I cringe at my earlier efforts, I’m sure Austin has his reservations about certain aspects of Blank Faces. It has been ten years, after all. But despite the imperfections and the fact that few of you reading (if anyone) has ever heard of this album or this artist, this album is a defining cornerstone of my life. Even after ten years, it’s still just as important to me as it was that first day riding home from church with a CD in a cardboard sleeve.

Be sure to follow Static to the Sound on Instagram. After a brief musical hiatus, Austin has returned, releasing three new tracks last year as well as one just last month. While you’re here, be sure to give a listen to “In the Sky” below.