Takes me back to the skateboard flannel and dyed-hair coffee shops. The acoustic guitar and occasional strings and piano invoke the flannel days of undistorted alternative 90’s folk rock. Very much Counting Crows and Collective soul vibes. Well-done arrangements and pleasantly emotional, evocative vocals. A solid journey from start to bitter end.
There’s a ragged vulnerability being shown, a constant interplay of major and minor chords, which pulls the emotions like a boat on heavy seas. “Happier Words” is a fine example of the constant cycle of positive and negative. You never quite know whether the song’s happy crescendos can pull it from the melancholy sitting just underneath.
The musicianship is evident, with songs like “Forever and Anon” taking on refreshingly unusual chord patterns, avoiding the usual folk trap of endless simple patterns. Songs like “Lioness” and “Lovelorn Lullaby” lead on like an acoustic ballad, until the pointed piano and coffeeshop orchestra arrive 3/4 of the way in. You never know what feeling each song will create.
Production-wise, I both want the vocals sounding more polished, and am glad they’re not. It suits the music having a voice that sounds very present and alone. There’s just enough harmonies to make it interesting, while still feeling like he’s only an empty table away. The guitars are clear and balanced, and the accompanying instruments always feel positioned well.
I’d definitely recommend this to any fan of singer-songwriter acoustic guitar, songs written for a small crowd in a dim downstairs, together in a few moments of shared longing and contentment.