a review by Nat Bourgon
December 18th, 2014
I recently discovered an
artist with a mountain of charisma, a truckload of truth, and a boutique of
beauty to offer the world. Rachel Garlin’s songs are poetic sheets of wisdom,
filled out by guitar work that flips on a dime between delicate and steamy, and
a sensually charged voice you will never forget. Fifteen years into her
career as a recording musician, and seven years removed from her previous LP
(2008’s “Bound To Be Mountains), she has re-emerged with “Wink at July”, the
most ace declaration of her lyrical and musical gifts to date. Her new
album “Wink at July” (Tactile Records) finds her enlightening her muses beyond
their most hopeful postulations, finally and fully divulging her songwriting
smarts, vocal aptitude and guitar finesse. That she presents her art in an
amicable compromise that lands somewhere between swaggering pride and graceful
modesty only raises the album’s profile.
Rachel Garlin’s musical
compositions are that rare find that I spend years crawling the infinite abyss
of the internet for. Her words compel me to become a better writer; to up the
game of my craft. She keeps her language approachable and indispensible, yet
she parcels words together in unorthodox, surprising contexts that take
sentences to exciting new places. I blush at how she demands simplicity to
co-exist with complexity in both her lyricism and guitar playing. I am in awe
of the mastery she exhibits with utilizing her voice to convey a variety of
different spheres of emotion and expression.
Leadoff track “Gwendolyn
Says” launches with an emphasis on percussion. There is a pop punch to this
sound that marks a decided departure from the more insular, sullen feel of her
folkier sounding past output. Vocally she sounds as though she is having more
fun than ever before. This is song designed to raise spirits, as if to announce
that this is a more vibrant, celebratory collection than the Garlin tunes of
yesteryear.
Garlin somehow manages to
cast good vibes into her most melancholic offerings. Her songs urge me to take
stock of the social landscape of my life, in the present tense. When I listen
to "Accordion Song", I feel connected to conversations that I
recently had with new people in my life. Listening to Rachel Garlin sing and
play her guitar, I feel as though I am receiving validation for living
purposefully. I feel as though this song is providing me with a firm nod of approval,
that I am inching closer to achieving my goals, cementing the bonds I have with
people in my life, and becoming the person that I want to be. This tune makes
me feel profound, important and in motion, and for that, I am grateful.
The guitar line on
"Accordion Song" has sizeable strength. Her lyrics communicate great
vulnerability and have a commitment to being real without sugarcoating her
tribulations. Lyrically, the song captures the unpredictable, roundabout cycle
of loss. It showcases how even the most minor moments and unrelated
conversations can trigger memories of a beloved person who is no longer with
us.
“I’m sorry I was not
stronger when I saw you
Instead I only wanted to
cry
Hearing about your dad, I
admit
Got me thinking about mine
You were looking slight and
small
Beside the writing on the
wall
Our meeting here was
supposed to be benign
And I thought I would be
stronger when I saw you
Instead I only wanted to
cry”
(Rachel Garlin- Accordion Song)
(Rachel Garlin- Accordion Song)
(from “Wink at July”- Tactile Records- 2015)
The song is both
confessional and courageous, honouring her signature ability to touch hearts
while challenging ears. Piano flourishes fizzle in and out, like marshmellows
being grazed into a bonfire for a split second, only to dash away from the heat
a millisecond later. Her voice has a soothing glow to it, which gives the tune
a celebratory feel even as the subject matter is inherently personal and
peppered with sadness.
“Hey Keith Haring” unveils
a rawer version of Garlin. Sprightly guitar comes to the fore here.
Rachel Garlin enunciates her philosophically infused musings in a way that
leans closer to speaking than singing, stretching our perception of what the
human voice can do and be. The more lo-fi production adds a flair of daring
mischievousness into the mix. Garlin sounds as though she is transmitting a
gigantic grin to us throughout the course of this song. Garlin manages to avert
the dangerous risk of leaving her emotive side behind. In the hands of another,
it could have felt like a disingenuous and less impactful move. Luckily,
Garlin’s joshing tone refrains from feeling campy or spoof like. It is just a
transient glimpse at another side of this multi-pronged artist. That this side
is can be so deft despite being so different is further evidence of her
artistic cultivation and blossoming with this album.
"The Sea You See" employs a whispery vocal release, and lingering, drawn out phrasing to angelic effect. There is something transcendent and otherworldly about the way her voice opens your love values up wider than you thought they could stretch. Her singing is deeply spiritual and restorative, coming from a higher place of unfathomable purity and honesty. Her striking imagery in "The Sea You See" is indebted to her passionate, fruitful relationship with the natural world. The song is proof that a track can be so earthly and yet also elysian, enhancing (without denting) the legacy and importance of both of these stratosphere in our lives.
“I know how to walk a tatty
field
To find a berry in the
brambles
And I know how to dance a
fearsome eight-some reel
I know how to make a
shepherd’s pie
And hear the sound inside a
seashell, yes
I know how to play a Burns
lullaby
But though I got your eyes,
I cannot see
The blue behind your gaze
When I see you see the sea
you see
Beyond the ocean waves”
(Rachel Garlin- The Sea
You See)
(from “Wink at July” - Tactile Records- 2015)
“Colorado Rain” has a more
countrified demeanor. It also finds Rachel Garlin singing in a lower octave,
showcasing the deeper, raspier side of her voice. Garlin wisely never
completely surrenders to twang, as her insertion of a jazz sounding piano
ensures her genre-neutral stance remains in good standing. Her voice wavers in
tone throughout the song, moving from near euphoria to peeved and back, evoking
a diverse compartment of catharsis and its freewheeling, all over the map
process.
“Flying Together” is an
advanced time capsule, custom made to retain the palpable path of the present
tense. The minimalism of her introspective, bare sounding material from her
first few albums glistens endearingly into focus, albeit with the newfound
sense of refinement, sophistication and maturity that comes from making the
album of her life (this one). On “Flying Together”, her lone acoustic guitar
sounds less isolating and sterile than it did in 2002; this time, snug calamity
prevails over despair.
“Spin” is for the dancing
machine in you. It is for those times when you just want to press pause on your
problems and groove to the beat. Garlin sounds energized and determined, like a
teacher blowing the bubbles of possibility in his or her students’ faces.
“Stranded” thrusts the
piano into a starring role to sublime effect, creating a dazzling décor of
sound. One of the most eloquent and profound songs on the album, it is elevated
by the most breathtaking vocal take of Garlin’s career.
The album’s finale (and
title track), “Wink at July” is a culmination of Garlin’s finest points. An instrumentally
riveting, lyrically active song brimming with a vocal clarity and indie DIY
vibe, "Wink" features some muddy distortion, a soaring melodic
maneuver and heartfelt words that leak out like the linear notes of Garlin’s
inner self for all to see, “Wink at July” is the album’s longest track on the
album for a reason: it is the release’s most poignant and assured track on an
album chalk full of poignant and assured pieces.
In her new album “Wink at
July”, Rachel Garlin has crafted an artistic achievement worth savouring and
salivating over. A high water mark in not only her career, but also for music
in 2015, Garlin’s “Wink at July” is the sound of an artist no longer flying
(like she proclaims in “Flying Together”) but soaring. In 2015, let’s all soar
together with “Wink at July”.
Check out "Wink
at July" on Rachel Garlin's bandcamp site here: http://rachel-garlin.bandcamp.com
The album can be purchased
on bandcamp in cd/digital formats. Help support this phenomenal artist if you
can!
