Abby Huston, AH HA
Check Overall Impressions: Reminds me a tiny bit of the Crumb show I saw at the Broadberry last year. It's the sax and the vocals. And where it's finding me? This album feels very relevant and current to my personal experiences since I just got an apartment. I want to delve into its quirks! Check youtube videos for Apartment and Unrequited. Track 2. Can't Be Sweet *FAVE TRACK* Not to be silly, but this song reminds me of the tough times in Shrek II. (Even more electric and painful than Shrek OG.) Due to the organ keyboard. I think a lot of this album depicts persistence through doubt, and here, when the artist say "I can't be sweet," maybe it has something to do with feeling a little bit defined or limited by this relationship with doubt. ps I can't be sweet. ps. Track 3. Higher Together, trax 3-4 feel like a power trio of statements/ and im not editing my typing for the next few mins too much ** but Track 4. Unrequited This is where my notes start-- on a credit card statement envelope. The male lyrics here at the end remind me STRONGLY of the honesty and simplicity yet sometimes colorful flagrant voice of Don Fredrick. I miss the beautiful song voice of Will Cummins. So... Bring on Not Kevin. AKA Cameron Smith? With the talk back and forth between girl and boy seeming sincere on one side and then just as sincere but a lot lighter and ever-so-slightly cheeky to a nice girl, maybe just because it's like he is sharing their secrets by singing back her! https://donfredrick.bandcamp.com/track/percy https://donfredrick.bandcamp.com/track/karma-slow-ghost Track 5. Lillies Tagging Songlines by Derek Trucks for the joyful instrumental sounds here. Please tune in, because I do adore front porches. I also enjoy the metallic sounds on this track that maybe help create a feeling of being on a front porch. "All I see are memories........that day we didn't know we would need." Track 6. Apartment This is my favorite song because it's about the self and self-exploration more than the previous songs. Where the intro was in conversation with someone a little bit, this one is more inward looking. Readers/ listeners, please check out the songwriting on this track especially. And also the melody. It's kind of unrestrained, and when I compare to Crumb-- this is the song I'd think of--- rainy, and unrestrained. You can't chain the song to the melody here. I really like the way the Apartment video depicts the artist alone on the roof. She is in her own world with the songs and the band is kind of supporting her vision from another place, not disturbing her or challenging her. It's like the musicians are trying to play a traditional 3- chord song along with a jazz singer. It's a fun concept! And has a nice, respectful, creative vibe. Track 7. Home The powerful intro is awesome here after such a vulnerable song because it just is --- this song looks at the future -- starts from like a groud zero place with just the buzzy electric guitar strings and voice. And thinks of a relationship as one might, removed, in the future, from memories. Track 8. L Train "Oh Darlin" is this a nod to Beatles? "Sinkin of the sea..." Here the keys are introduced again and they are very discordant with the melody at first but amazing and on a concert piano not keys ok? Hard to picture this piano on stage with the band (then again, no, the horns totally pick up and meet the piano,) honestly but i dig the showstopping quality. In the loudest moments I am remembering Laura Marling and the dramatic jangling gypsy music from NRN. So, ALSO MY FAVE TRACK. Laura Marling Song For Our Daughter Track 9. Younger "If I took 4 steps closer..... Why am I so uninhibited?" This song is nice for sure, feels like a bookend to the other tracks. It makes a really critical comparison. Being like a child in love doesn't mean having no doubt or caution. I think it ends the album on a note that is kind of pensive and dreamy over the past and pointing the way directly back to the sentiments expressed on the first track of the album, Promise. I get the impression that lots of material I WOULDNT MIND LISTENING TO has been omitted from this recording :) There are these little voice tags at the end of some of the songs that say, like: "ok it's over now even though it doesn't have to be but it should be ok bye." #awkwardbow Most of the tracks are 2.5-3.5 mins and it's a lovely piece altogether. The music is concentrated and interesting, and I'd like to hear more of what's jamming in between the songs! BONUS MATERIAL: Back in the day, being 28 at the 20's show Dear M, I don't know whether I'd rather be last night the third act at the garage band show who entertained the peak audience Don Fredrick had to play and stay alert while audience members surged into their space as the whirlers lost their footing or were jostled when a fan or two dropped from the I-beam. I'm going to remember the people on the ceiling and the hard driving bass & guitar line that kind of braced against the chaos wove through the circulating garage audience asking ppl what was next. whatever part in the lineup, wrapping up an act means setting the stage for the next act- whether it be Manatree or frikken life itself. Last night they came out with a heavier sound from the bass & guitar and grittier than say, one of their Talking Heads covers, that still blended nicely with playful psychedelic key doodles and mini-riffs. If I were a seagull it was a hot, difficult day and I was dropping little clawfulls of crunched up shells in the surf when I was diving for ghost crabs. And every so often I'd hear another seagull call and decide to pump it up a little higher and look around. If I were most honest with myself, I most wanted to be opening act, Sea Glass, stole the show for me, partly because of who they were in the circumstances. I was full of memories of the last Black Valentine party we attended, and I was just hoping the music would make the night worthwhile, and carry me past my anxious memories. Turns out a girl band was exactly what I wanted to hear after another one of those Valentine's days. Clear confident voices from the two singing front-women, a girl drummer in pinstripes and a brand-new love song was just like a hug! A happy note and a great performance by the host band on a wonderful night. Yes, Don Fredrick played an excellent set and maybe a little more for the boys - that long heavy jam in the middle of their set, (and no moonlight!) I have seen the band 4x, and met a different group each time. Different circumstances, diff venue - I see & feel the strength of many voices and talents - a group that plays to its audience and can improvise! I'm so glad, and went that way into the next set. Manatree played a clean set with great sound balance in the three-walled garage. Maybe they even had to cut the volume back after hours. I couldn't hear them well outside the garage, but could mingle freely, as the crowd chaos had been subdued some, and the constant stream of incoming and outgoing patrons from the alley back door to the patio was becoming orderly and purposeful.
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AuthorWe are Kieran and Michelle, two 32-year-old William & Mary grads living in Virginia. Archives
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