Sometimes we turn down the stereo, crank up the indirect lighting, and get mellow. As a genre, poprock has got that kind of flexibility. So today we shine our light on the lighter side of melody-rich tune-age. You can light up a Gauloises now.
Last year Bart Davenport re-released his 2003 LP Game Preserve. The whole enterprise was a deep dive into the sonic textures of the 1970s: singer-songwriter, light rock, a bit of yacht, veering into early Eagles territory here and there. But the track that really grabbed me was the flamenco-styled opening cut, “Sweetest Game.” Talk about light touch! The acoustic guitar backing is so elegant and spare, the vocal intimate and understated. On his 14th album Burlington Vermont’s Ben Patton demonstrates his mastery of decades of songwriting styles. Hyde’s Hill Henhouse covers so many bases, from straight up soft rock to mannered 1940s word play. For the former, there’s “Making The Most of Space” or “Does It Have to Hurt So Much,” both exhibiting that effortless easy-listening flow anchored with subtle hooks. By contrast “Don’t Mention Jane to Jim” has the clever pacing and arch commentary of a Noel Coward lyric. Musically the record puts its songs in various settings: samba (“Romantic to a Fault”), novelty (“My Own Monster”), jazz (“Put on a Tie”) and country (“Hyde’s Hill Henhouse”). Songs like “I Hear Good Things About Naples” strip things back to their most essential elements as Patton drapes his vocal over the tune with an exacting delivery. Or you can just bask in the simple sweetness of the tender “Cancel All My Plans.”
When I reviewed Grand Drifter’s “As the Days Change” last year I was struck by the dynamic tension established between the lush acoustic guitars and single note piano work. Andrea Calvo makes this sound central to his Grand Drifter project on the rest of his most recent EP Paradise Window. Opening cut “Drawing Happiness” is most similar to the previously featured tune, with a slightly more Latin flavour. “Beautiful Praise” adds drums and jangly guitars in a way that strikes a more 1980s indie British guitar band sound. On “Unrecorded Feelings” a more Bacharach feel surfaces while “Peaceful Season” turns back to the Latin themes. Then piano comes to fore on the title track “Paradise Window” floating over an atmospheric cloud-like backing. Final track “Memory and Dust” trades guitar and piano lead lines under an ethereal vocal. Another artist that can effectively paint a sonic picture is Jacob Slater. On Pinky, I Love You the sound is striking, echoing like a big, empty, dimly-lit room late at night. There’s not much more here than acoustic guitar and vocals but Slater shapes these two into a distinct ambience. “One For the Pigeons” falls into a solo John Lennon meets Elliott Smith register while “I Do” feels very Ben Watt in that early spartan EBTG period. But the album highlight for me is “Kissin’ Booth,” so reminiscent of the first Suzanne Vega album, with perhaps just a dash of Big Star. This is a mood album, whether making or reflecting it.
Generally Athens Georgia native Erin Lovett hangs with just a ukulele and her voice in the guise of her musical personality Four Eyes. She has a particular penchant for holiday tunes, accent on Halloween. Occasionally she breaks out a more full band performance, as on “Walk Me To My Door” from 2014’s Our Insides. Sometimes she offers up an inventive ‘live radio play and music event’ that runs to 20 minutes – Dead Girl. But her most recent EP The Freaky probably best captures her oeuvre. The songs sound like they emerge from a melody museum, fitted with bits of past musical glory, driven by plucky strings here, driving organ chords there. Opening cut “Vampires” reminds me of Vashti Bunyan. “The Dead Can’t Rest” lurches along fueled by bleating organ shots. “Never Change” is just straight up acoustic guitar folk. But through it all Lovett’s songwriting is lyrically evocative with tunes that get in your head. Well as we amble toward the exits on this post we can excerpt something from Sam Wilbur’s new record The Age. Here the stand out track for me is “South Carolina,” a bittersweet example of Americana that leverages piano, fiddle and competing vocals lines to fill out its aural landscape.
Light and easy can be good, as long as the hooks are strong. So make sure to set these suggestions aside somewhere for when the mood strikes.
Photo courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.
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