2015 in music: A Tour
I would like to honour the full length albums/EPs released in 2015 that inspired the heck out of me.
24) Annabelle Chvostek- Be the Media (full length)
It's disheartening to me that Annabelle Chvostek is probably still best known for her contributions to The Wailing Jennys's breakthrough album "Firecracker" (2006) almost a decade ago. Since she departed The Wailing Jennys in 2007, Chvostek has released three solo albums, including 2015's severely underrated gem "Be The Media". "Media" finds Chvostek straying from the crisp, refined acoustic folk that usually rules her solo material. She trades her acoustic guitar for an electric, wails instead of whispers, and emancipates her previously censored rock and roll virtuoso within. Her songwriting sounds sharpened here, and her newfound sprawling, up tempo power keeps her music budding. Lyrically, she is as poetic and eloquent as always, this time graciously veering more on the side of the personal (where Chvostek thrives) after 2012's politically heavy LP "Rise." The title track "Be The Media" is flaming and empowering. "This Night" is feel-good. "Black Hole" is sinister. Closer "Say It Right" is sentimental yet invigorated. You Can Come Now", the rare occasion on this collection where she returns to balladry, is her definitive career highlight to date (Jennys work included). It was quietly released, but "Be The Media" is a fascinating work of art that is equally a departure as it is an exhibition of the goods that she's always been carrying.
Key Track: "You Can Come Now"
23) Guster- Evermotion (full length)
After a run of three incalculably esteemed records in the 90s and 2000s that propelled Guster into favourite band status (1999's "Lost and Gone Forever', 2003's "Keep It Together" and 2006's "Ganging Up On the Sun" was an untouchable trio of progress), it was somewhat inevitable that 2010's "Easy Wonderful" would underwhelm me a tad. Indeed,"Easy Wonderful" felt less like the work of the inventive, collaborative band I knew and loved, and more analogous to a Ryan Miller solo project. In my mind, when Guster is winning, they are doing so by utilizing a shared frontman dynamic between Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner, not only so far as vocals are concerned but also in terms of identity and songwriting input. Also, Guster songs at their most successful are at once both celebratory and inhibited. The best Guster tunes grapple with melancholia but manage to present strain in a driving, appreciative-in-spite-of-it-all way. "Easy Wonderful" pushed things a shake too too far in one direction, feeling triumphant and self-congratulatory. With that record, I kept waiting for the usually nippy draft to set in and provide some balance, but unfortunately it didn't. Thankfully, that essential tinge of regret and longing that went MIA last time out comes back in a big way with 2015's "Evermotion". On standout 'It Is Just What It Is", Ryan Miller shares the mic with Adam Gardner almost evenly throughout, proving how beneficial it is when Gardner's role goes beyond that of a utility backup. "Expectation" is somehow classic Guster yet, although it admirably discards thei band's classic sound. It feels reminiscent of the atmospheric pull created by Gusters best album, "Lost and Gone Forever",but it manages to push the group's sound forward by feeling closer to the sonics of electronic music than the guitar led pop that the band is known for. "Kid Dreams" is nostalgic but also fresh. On a lyrical level, it feels like a continuation of "Homecoming King" from "Keep It Together", although instrumentally "Kid Dreams" is much more exploratory and risky. "Evermotion" is easily the best Guster record since "Ganging Up The Sun" came out almost a decade earlier, and it even rivals "Lost and Gone Forever" and "Keep It Together" for the title of the band's towering achievement to date.
Key Track: "It Is Just What It Is"
22) Paula Cole- 7
Paula Cole returned to music in 2007 following an eight year hiatus. Since deciding to make a comeback, she has now quietly released four albums in the last nine years. More significant is that the music that she has released over the last near decade has grown more and more emotionally true and expressive. There is an interesting tension here as her piano narrates her fractures, but her voice carries a newfound tone of comfort and acceptance, as if everything is actually going to be okay now. "New York City" conjures up a synergy of lament and neglect. It is an ode to being passed by, and feeling washed up. "You Will Never Know' is a letter documenting what it feels like to have been thoroughly captivated by another. Lyrically it is concerned with grasping at the straws of unrealized potential. "Puncture Wound" is the best of the lot: it is a crash course in how to healthily deal with anguish, while holding onto that determination to still see everyday as an adventure, even when it feels like your prime time is long over. The greatest strength of "7" is that how unabashedly real it is: The doesn't make promises to bring back 1996. These songs proper because even though they concern themselves with looking back and reflecting on the past, they are willing to go onward and be present. "7" is one of the most rewarding entourages of songs that Cole has written. Cole has always been a superb storyteller, but agreeably, now she is telling her own stories more than ever, in the process redefining the deepness of sensitivity and bottling the wet discomfort of self awareness's spit.
Key Track: "Puncture Wound"
21) Kathryn Calder- self titled
Ever since I heard the devastating shiver of the Calder penned Immaculate Machine palpitation "Statue" (off 2005's "Ones and Zeros"), I longed for more compositions in the same vein from Kathryn. Ten years later, Calder has finally returned to the stormy, disarmingly downcast conditions that spawned "Statue". "Beach" is topped with opaque spice but is the most penetrable piece she has ever written. It carries the moody vibe of a blackout, stripping life down to its most essential essence. In "Beach", there is no battery for the flashlight. It is just unadorned naturalness, without the artifice. Even"Take a Little Time", the grooviest thing on the release, leaves its head bobbing movements for a comfortable seated position during parts of its final third. "Blue Skies" is a comforting, secure shoulder to lean on during the fall, and "Song in Cm" is like the idealistic counselor of empathy that actually listens, and then starts bawling with us so we know there is understanding in play, not just placating at work. This album establishes that Calder's gift is making music that listens to us when we need to spill. Let her album be your sounding board.
Key Track: "Beach"
20) Kris and Dee- A Great Long Game
Hearing Kris Abbott's guitar playing is like inhaling renewal. I feel so exhilarated and free after listening to this! Dee McNeil's spongy, voice soaks up the guff inside your head, and helps you make sense of your next steps. Whether you need reassurance or a reality check, this album will set your mental capacities straight. I spent a day this year listening to "Trembling Aspen" on repeat, and that song was the elixir I needed. "Pilot Light" is deep stuff, and Abbott's guitar solo offers some angularity, and backs up the grind of tough love being issued during "Cold Chisel" is that long awaited place where reality and dreams meet halfway. "A Great Long Game" is an album that asks the universe to be its pen pal. It is a collection willing to intake and embrace the confusion of question marks, while determined to not call off the expedition for answers.
Key Track: "Pilot Light"
19) Evening Hymns- Quiet Energies
Earnestness and sincerity are my favourite two trait in male vocalists. "House of Mirrors" is so open, so vulnerable. Sylvie Smith's harmonies add perfume to these songs."Evil Forces" feels spiritual, and makes me want to be a better person, to run . "Rescue Teams" is troubled and attentive. These are songs that have no interest in caricatures, and photogenic editing. These are songs about truth itself.
Key Track: "House of Mirrors"
18) Great Northern- Tremors
I've been waiting for six years for this album to come out! It has felt like twelve years! 2007's "Trading Twilight for Daylight" really clicked with me. I used to play it day in and out on my summer job bus commutes of 2 hours each way back in the summer of 2008! This album actually somehow made me look forward to the excessive travel time. I also enjoyed 2009's "Remind Me Where the Light Is" too. They've been talking about a third album for years, and it finally was released earlier this year. The very fact of having new music from this band felt like a win in and of itself! They departed from their label, and just worked away for years making the music that spoke to their impulses. That the result of their labour is hands down the finest Great Northern album to date just makes this all feel even sweeter! Rachel Stotle's voice feels so triumphant and energized. When I hear her voice, I feel as though she is sharing some of her keen, animated vibes with me, and that they are translating int moments of activeness and taking charge of my life! The music on this album maintains the band's trademark for making melody sing, but it feels more interesting and developed than ever this time around. "Holes" tells us how to keep things heated and passionate in romance throughout longevity, and Stotle delivers her strongest vocal take ever. "Human" starts out as the quietest song on the record, but it evolves into something so much more pulsating and catchy. "Skin of Our Teeth" is downright thrilling. This is a champion return for one of indie rock's most devastatingly underrated bands!
Key Track: "Human"
17) Damon and Naomi- Fortune
This served as the soundtrack for Naomi Yang's film, but more importantly, it is Damon and Naomi's first full length album since 2011's career highlight "False Beats and True Hearts." With Naomi clearly focusing her creative energy on the film itself, Damon meantime takes control of the album, as it is his still boyish voice for once that takes the lead the most often (usually Naomi leads the way when it comes to vocals). This is also the first Damon and Naomi album since 1998's Playback Singers that doesn't include Michio Kurihara's electric guitar work, lending itself to a much more private, personal sound. "Fortune" is the most acoustic oriented Damon and Naomi album since 2000, which allows the duo's voices to be more up front. When Damon and Naomi align their voices in that mesmerizing, singular harmony, as on standout "Sky Memories", I am reminded of the beauty of each passing millisecond, and of life's quieter moments. While listening to "Sky Memories", time seems to slow down enough to appreciate the finer details, and that is certainly an impressive feat! Damon and Naomi's music is about feeling, and this is one of the most feeling inspired records of their career to date.
Key Track: "Sky Memories"
16) Kathryn Williams- Hypoxia
There is an apocalyptic sense of doom and dread that creeps through "Hypoxia", which is appropriate considering the album was inspired by Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar." Williams employs a much more brash and choppy sound throughout this album than she usually does, and the songs have an unnerving affect, leaving the listener with the unmistakable vibe that something is amiss. Tension is the name of the game throughout "Hypoxia". Williams' voice, which usually comes across as direct and trustworthy, carries a newfound mysterious, deceiving tone, as though she is storytelling more than emoting this time around. She voice sounds weathered by trust misplaced and disappointment, more so than ever before. There is a frantic sigh communicated again and again, as if to warn us of being conned ourselves. Her songwriting feels in line with her previous explorations, but on this record, it feels as though she then went and dipped her compositions in abrasive, rowdy coating. "Mirrors" feels cross and cluttered, and "Cuckoo" feels heavier and more austere than most theatrical productions. It is when Williams' embraces her more hospitable sounding vocal enunciation, and when she focuses on the pastoral breath of her acoustic guitar, that she really shines. The undisturbed, patient character study "Electric" that begins the record, and the grievous, touching tribute "When Nothing Meant Less both perfect the starry-eyed, minimal, delicate wonder that Kathryn Williams has been clarifying since her stunning 1999 debut LP "Dog Leap Stairs"
Key Track: "When Nothing Meant Less"
15) Cynthia G. Mason- Cinematic Turn (EP)
It's funny how this new collection from Cynthia G. Mason succeeds by de-emphasizing the element that I once considered was Mason's greatest gift as a singer/songwriter. When listening to her 2000 self-titled debut, I prized the melancholic ambiance that Mason's songs and voice muster. Surprisingly, my most favourite of the new songs that comprise her latest EP "Cinematic Turn" is the tune that evokes the most dash and . "18th Street" is indeed more driving and upbeat musically than most of Mason's catalogue, with her guitar sounding enterprising and intrepid. As for her voice, while I wouldn't go as far as saying her delivery sounds downright chipper here, there is more wit and evenness, and less weep and depression in "18th Street" than in any other Mason penned song in her fifteen year plus career. Even in "One More Trip Back East", which is a much more solemn offering, she sounds down, but not out. This more levelheaded approach to singing that shows up throughout "Cinematic Turn" dons Mason's songs in cozier sweaters to cope with the ever-nippy conditions endured. Case in point: The melancholia that I used to adore about Mason's music is still around, only this time it's been downgraded to part time status, sharing hours with the sun. Another change for the better: On her previous LP, 2007's "Quitter's Claim", Mason's voice sounded filtrated through the pudgy downfall of a subterranean vent, never landing quite as audibly and amble as I would have hoped. This time, her vocals are presented much more decidedly and distinctly, and this pushes these songs a notch ahead of her past glories.
Key Track: "18th Street"
14) Megan Hamilton- Forty Warm Streams to Lead Your Wings
In an era where singles and hype are all the rage, Megan Hamilton comes through with so much more than a pile of new songs. This is a true album, that plays supremely better as a whole. Historically, Hamilton has utilized storytelling predominantly. But this time, her songwriting output comes from a more autobiographical perspective, which adds undertone and intensity to her songs. Waves of her folk ancestry brush up against the shoreline now and then, but she elects for a few more hooks on this swim. Hamilton utilizes some pop instincts here, and the result is the most sonically riveting and lyrically risky record of her career so far. And just because it sounds best as a whole, we should no discount the standalone strength of individual tracks on this record. "The Violins" is a dreamy number with Hamilton delivering lead vocals that are teary eyed and reflective, yet also shimmering. Her lyrics here are as poetic as ever, and inspired my own writing heavily throughout 2015. The drizzling piano sound that recurs provides musical profundity. The stormier, heartfelt "Late Bloomer" emphasizes how good Hamilton is at convincing the guitar to surprise and enterprise. If Hamilton was previously viewed as an underrated guitarist, a listen to "Late Bloomer" should travel far in altering this perception. This is hypnotizing, boundary pushing music that thrives at expressing the rituals and character of expression itself.
Key Track: "The Violins"
13) Low- Ones and Sixes
Let's get this out of the way: This is a much more grubbier, and rumpled affair than 2013's "The Invisible Way",which was a career high point of theirs. Low albums tend to favour either elegance and beatific connectivity, or chapped, marred existence. On "The Invisible Way", Mimi Parker sang lead vocals on five songs, and the overall tone was more about embracing love rather than disparaging defeat. Now, with "Ones and Sixes", the mood is much more gnarled and the lyrics focus more insistently on frazzled faith. Optimism counts are low here. But the songwriting remains solid, the band's determination to explore shifts in sound does not let up, and this is a very solid record. This is definitely not as affecting an album as 'The Invisible Way", but it is still an important and essential Low album. As expected, Mimi Parker's presence is reduced from her above-average level of contribution to "The Invisible Way." Parker's few lead vocals, including the snug, amicably lifting "Congregation" and the advisory, yet deep-seated "The Innocents" relieve some of the scour from Sparhawk's more menacing turns fronting the band. Sparkhawk isn't without his moments too. His contribution "Lies" is a top-five Low song because of how personal it is: It examines the state of the ever-evolving marriage between between Alan and Mimi in a very forthright way that gets to the bottom of it, without being overtly soapy or unfairly confrontational. The song's middle puts Sparhawk's voice on sabbatical for a time, and Parker belts out some enlightened, perceptive insight with an unprecedented feral sharpness, like a position of authority's crackdown. "Spanish Translation" demonstrates that Low can be messy and intimate at once; that these traits don't have to interfere with each other. Low are certainly at their best when they don't refuse to settle for choosing between beauty and adventure. The best moments of "The Insivible Way" prove that this is a band that can have both, without compromise, when they choose to put in the grunt work necessary to achieve that balancing act.
Key Track: "Lies"
12) Destroyer- Poison Season
When Destroyer fever swept through the music scene like a fad of the year back in early 2011, I was baffled. I mean, Dan Bejar had been making his peculiar, intentionally inaccessible, musically nervy albums for years. Why did people choose "Kaputt" as their point of entrance into the Destroyer fan club? A few years of reflection later, I have stumbled upon some semblance of clarity on this long-puzzling matter. "Kaputt" retained the high quality control that Dan Bejar ensures on every project he attaches his name to, but it is a much more serious album than all others in his discography. "Kaputt" largely abandoned the playfulness and lighthearted vocal intonations that Bejar excels at. If "Kaputt' was his attempt to shirk his banter and ridiculous persona, to see what lay underneath, his latest album "Poison Season" manages to acknowledge the sophistication and melodic advances of "Kaputt" while reintroducing his audience to his archetypal madman-like, overstimulated demeanor. "Bangkok" is a metaphor for this record's award worthy intermingling of sorrow and sass. It starts out sounding like a once-hippie having a pint of nostalgia about his glory days. Sincerity reigns supreme. But then, towards the end of the song, it is as if the hippie decided that he's still got it, and that life is too short to be recounting when he could be out there living it up right now, having the time of his life out on the town. He gets animated again, like a man brought back from the pits of his intended swan song. He sounds reinvigorated and impassioned with his songs, music, and even life itself on "Poison Season", and the record's ability to merge a jubilant spirit with blighted, scorned lyric, set to an outstretched sonic domain, allows "Poison Season" to impress and intrigue in equal measure.
Key Track: "The River"
11) Michael Feuerstack- The Forgettable Truth
There is much fuss made about the aging of musicians. More specifically, there is enormous chatter about how aging affects both songwriting and singing. Many seem to subscribe to the idea that the voices of musicians they love start to deteriorate at a certain point: that time ultimately has its way with voices. Humans postulate that the music that their favourite bands made in their youth was punchier and surging with more momentum than the tunes that the same groups make now, approaching or into mid age. Along comes Michael Feuerstack, whom at age 42, has made the record of his life. His voice has deepened, pushing his vocals into a territory where maturity and heartthrob sensory meet halfway. Females will swoon at his expressive, at times sensual delivery, and males will marvel how macho it is to be acing your own craft. His music sounds more avant-garde here than ever before. He has a greater sense of insight into his strengths and limitations, so he is freer to experiment and diversify the soundscape. He boldly changes up some of his signature moves, while also completing and actualizing other musical and lyrical approaches and quests that he has spent decades building towards. He allows himself to admirably smirk at his bristol board of experiences and be more secure and self-assured with his customized style of befriending wit and deliberation . His music has accumulated an extra helping of insight and wisdom since his days fronting his former Snailhouse. "Glacier Love" initially plays as a fluid and stable river with its smooth, linear foams of guitar, but further listens reveal a certain inscrutable, sphinxlike state of nebulousness. Veiled dimness leak underneath the pleasant interior of Feuerstack's songs. He sounds vehement and desperate throughout "The Forgettable Truth": Vehement from having the strength and lessons of two decades in music to pull from, and yet as desperate and pleading to make beautiful art as the first timer just starting out a career. Anyone not yet convinced that age is just a number as far as musicians are concerned need to hear this record. I liked his past work, but on "The Forgettable Truth", Feuerstack puts it all together and delivers his magnum opus. This is work worth loving. This is work that is lovable.
Key Track: "Glacier Love"
10) Dave Rawlings Machine- Nashville Obsolete
I used to look down on simplicity. I held the firm opinion that as far as music was concerned, effortless sounding songs detracted from quality. The easier and more basic a song sounded, the more I would shun that song. I didn't adopt this mindset because I was obsessive compulsive with achieving some kind of hipster, indie cred. Rather, I was impressed by creativity, by shifts, and by departures from the niches of beloved artists. I was so adamant for so long that success in music was bound up with complexity. I credit "Nashville Obsolete", the new Dave Rawlings Machine album, with convincing me that an artist doesn't have to be an experimental daredevil to make extraordinary music. "The Weekend" feels timeless. It has no interest in studio gags. It is almost entirely built upon voice and guitar. This song is so focused. The playing is so tight. The harmonies are spot on, so intertwined. "Short Haired Woman Blues" is pulled off because Rawlings is one of the most talented guitarists on the planet. It's got a secretive, jittery quality to it instrumentally, thanks to Rawlings decision to abandoning melody abruptly. But the dissonance never usurps the pleasurable sense of belonging that Rawlings' songs instills in the listener. Rawling's voice plays like that of a father figure utilizing his protective instincts, ensuring your safety and security no matter what comes next. It's a comforting feeling, hearing his altruistic sounding, nurturing voice advise you against falling for a quick fix, and encouraging you to hold out for something substantial in the relationship realm. "The Trip" positions Rawlings as an wordsmith to revere. He maximizes the impact of the English language at its most straightforward. A mid song guitar solo in an eleven minute long song would ordinarily scream over-indulgence, but here it is a welcomed surprise. When Gillian Welch joins in on the song's chorus, the beauty here is beyond compare. "Nashville Obsolete" is an elite reminder of the charms of being flash-free. It is an ode to the feel-good vibes that can only come when zeroing in on real, face-to-face communication. "Nashville Obsolete" rolls its eyes at technology's imprint of rush and impatience in modern society, and then lines up for a reservation- free dinner with some old friends. This album is like a night of good old fashioned conversation in a room, where cellphones are left at home. Laughing in a room with people you love never gets old, and "Nashville Obsolete" boldly pronounces that neither does the craft of writing great songs inspired more by the tradition of truth than by tricks wrapped in musical tinsel.
Key Track: "The Trip"
9) Heather Nova- The Way it Feels
"The Way it Feels" resonates because of the resistance it puts up towards finality. Written during the final act of her marriage, "The Way it Feels" finds Nova clinging to the possibility of an uptick and refuses to completely give up on her relationship. Even as the reasons to remain upbeat continue to diminish, and even as mourning fills her mornings, she sings like her fate has yet not been sealed, like there is still a verdict to be made. "The Way it Feels" makes the lowest odds still feel salvageable. Nova has this gift of communicating the possibility of light, and betting on optimism's leadership, even when the sun is setting. Whether through her no frills "tell-it-like-it-is" lyricism that never beats around the bush, or her visually depicting, brimful easel of sonic brio, Heather Nova's songs manage to prize the unsymmetrical times of life, long enough to feel something true and meaningful. Her music and words playfully splash in a puddle of dampened dreams. Her work positions the dumps as a long term funk, rather than a surrender, and "The Way it Feels" shows us how to compartmentalize life through the same filter. "The Way it Feels" is Heather Nova's strongest set of songs since her 1998 heydey "Siren". Fitted in
production choices that land her in the most seemly compromise
imaginable between her indie-like, DIY vision and her big league
talents, and containing some of the most memorable storytelling and personal
postscripts I've heard this year, Heather Nova's "The Way it Feels" is
an applause garnering tour guide of feeling itself. The encore rewards
here are eternal.
Key Track: "This Humanness"
8) Belle and Sebastian- Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance
Having multiple songwriters in the same band allows for added opportunity for that band to have a more assorted, wider ranging identity. It is so much more interesting to me when a band's identity gets to be extended beyond the vision of one leader. So naturally, it is a shame in my mind that when people think of the band Belle and Sebastian, their thoughts land
unequivocally on frontman Stuart Murdoch. Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance", the new Belle and Sebastian record, is a full throttle indicator of how much this band deserves to be viewed as a legitimate group, rather than merely just a vehicle for Stuart Murdoch's music making. Sarah Martin has playing violin in Belle and Sebastian since 1996, and contributing songs to the group since 2000. "Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance" places Martin in a much more primary role, as she sings lead on album highlights "The Power Of Three" (which is a dreamy, theatrical pop song with brazen, personally charged lyrics) and "The Book Of You" (a rowdy, agile tune with a catchy chorus, and a roaring charm). Sarah Martin's voice is also so well suited to harmonizing with Stuart Murdoch's, as evident by the romanticized thrill ride known as "The Everlasting Muse", appearing mid album. "Enter Sylvia Plath" makes me want to put on some blue suede shoes, and hit the dance floor for days, and once again here, Sarah Martin receives a moment to shine, delivering a mesmerizing vocal solo halfway through that alters the landscape of the entire song. Stuart Murdoch's opener "Nobody's Empire" is billed everywhere as the most personal song he has ever written. It is at once the quintessential, classic Belle and Sebastian song, yet also moves the group's sound forward by possessing hints of show tune pizzazz, incorporating gospel like backing vocals at times, and experimenting with a much greater use of the piano than most songs in the band's discography can attest to. "Ever Had a Little Faith?" is the idealistic metaphor for how together is better with Belle and Sebastian. Originally written in and around 1996, my favourite moment in the track is when Stevie Jackson and Stuart Murdoch combine their voices. It's one of the few times in a twenty year career where both Jackson and Murdoch sing together. The moment feels reminiscent of male bonding at its finest: of two men who have experienced two decades of touring and recording alongside one another, yet seem to be the opposite of sick of one another. As if that isn't enough, in swoops the voice of Sarah Martin during the song's final quarter, softening Murdoch's sorrow with her waves of femininity, and her zen-like sensuality. "Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance" thrives because of it's ability to adequately capture, for the first time, the hefty talents of Stuart Murdoch's cohorts. "Girls in Peacetime Want To Dance" makes it clear that if Stuart Murdoch is "Sebastian" in Belle and Sebastian, Sarah Martin and Stevie Jackson have now finally earned their claim to being "Belle".
Key Track: "Ever Had a Little Faith?
7) Johanna Warren- numun
Listening to numun, I am now able to distinguish between having proficiency with an instrument, and being in command of an instrument. Johanna Warren has complete, utter command of her guitar. Throughout this record, she demands her guitar to re-enact the jolts and jumps of her most innate brain activity, and her guitar obliges resoundingly. Warren's guitar playing bravely takes the listener on an extended hike through her realities. Her guitar navigates the choppiest and messiest junctures of life; this is no quest to soften the blow. Warren possesses the intuition and gentleness of a non traditional healer. She taps into the vibes of well-being through spiritual rituals and via the forces of the natural world. Warren's words are often swollen with the ripple effect of peacemaking with your most non ideal, hard to swallow realizations. It is so challenging to acknowledge your areas that require improvement in life, yet acknowledging your imperfections allows for growth. Warren recognizes that sometimes you need to feel what you're feeling, before you can feel better. "No more trying/Let's sit and stare/at the indescribable deep despair" (Johanna Warren- Found I Lost). The encouraging slant of her guitar work allows her music to feel rejuvenating and refreshing, more so than cold and self-effacing. It is more normal than not for singers to impose a theatrical presence on their vocalizations. It is a typical move for singers to emphasize the emotions they are trying to convey to an emphatic, drawn-out degree, like actors trying to inspire a certain type of reaction to the character they are portraying. But when Johanna Warren sings, there is no overdosing on emotional stakes. There is no intentional presentation to provoke a certain mindset in her listeners. Warren doesn't sing like she means it. She just sings and we know it's real. No convincing required.
Key Track: Found I Lost
6) Corrina Repp- The Pattern of Electricity
In 2001, Corrina Repp gave us a heartbreaking record called I Take On Your Days, which documented stomped on hearts, the outs of endings, and tears having their way. After following "I Take On Your Days" with a pair of more outward looking, less personal solo records, and a stint in the band Tu Fawning, Repp finally returns to providing play by play commentary of her heart's quest for transcendence. Her new solo record 'The Pattern of Electricity" is full of the type of intimate self portraits of sound and musings on domestication's undoing that made her 2001 LP such a prized possession. Written and recorded following a breakup, "The Pattern of Electricity" finds Repp yelping more than sighing, and creating a more full-blown eruption of sound from the foundations of her minimalist sonic sketches. If her 2001 album "I Take On Your Days" is the sound of love being negated with a subtle slip, and the mournful, reflective pondering that results, her 2015 record "The Pattern of Electricity" takes a more fiery, rebellious approach to coping with a flameout. Lyrically, throughout "The Pattern of Electricity", Repp refuses to make one-sided accusations. She does not pass the blame like a hot potato. While "I Take On Your Days" is about ruminating on what went wrong, "The Pattern of Electricity" is more invested in course correction, and learning from the disappointments encountered in her now defunct relationship. "The Pattern of Electricity" is a compromise between the panic of chaos, and the serenity of morning glory, before the guttural cracks awaken. Every so often, Repp transfixes us with a cameo of that low, whispery tone of voice that is as humane and settling, as it is extra-terrestrial and confounding. Closer "In the Dark, You're More Colorful" opens with acoustic guitar and Repp's voice floating lightly, gracefully. The electric guitar later kicks in, as her voice grows grows more provoked and ruffled. The tidy beginning morphs into a rude awakening, like being pulled out of a snug sleep into the untamed, unsafe ruins of living. Repp's magic lies in somehow making a rude awakening feel like a wake up call. Repp tears down hope, only to then acknowledge the benefits of starting anew, and building from the ground up. Thankfully, her new concoctions remember and celebrate the blueprints of yore. Repp reminds us throughout "The Pattern of Electricity that a clean slate doesn't have to always mean a clean break.
Key Track: In the Dark, You're More Colorful
5) Rachel Garlin- Wink at July
Rachel Garlin rummages through the recycling bin of life's small scale, reserved moments, and collects their charms, causing us to re-evaluate their worth. Garlin
