It’s only been a month,
but I’m already jonesing to buy new music. Fortunately, I have a backlog of new
stuff bought in happier days dating back to about last September, so there is
still plenty of stuff to discover and rediscover. Here’s one of those.
Disc 1359 is…. Islands
Artist:
Erin Durant
Year of Release: 2019
What’s up with the
Cover?
Not much. There are liner notes that when folded open also provide a full
colour version of the picture. I can assure you it is no less boring in colour.
How I Came To Know
It: I
read reviews of this album on my two favourite online music magazines (Paste
and Pitchfork) and while neither was effusive in its praise, the combination
sufficiently intrigued me to dig a little deeper. And here we are.
How It Stacks Up: This is my only Erin Durant album, so it can’t
really stack up against anything.
Ratings: 4 stars
It’s been a lovely week of weather, culminating today in temperatures
approaching 20 degrees Celsius, and so the relaxed, lyrical and languorous experience
of Erin Durant’s “Islands” was the perfect soundtrack; a cure for the cares and
worries in life.
Durant’s voice is a mix of whimsy and bird song, as she picks her way
down a narrow path midway between folk and pop, flowers blooming on both sides
of her as she goes. She isn’t a powerhouse singer by any stretch, but she has a
sweetness in her tone that makes you want to lay down in a hammock and stare at
the sky.
The album only has eight tracks but they take their time fully exploring
their musical concepts, with songs routinely pushing close to or past the six minute
mark. Durant allows herself to have two or three distinct movements in these
longer tracks, and it serves to hold your attention for the time it takes her
to tell her stories.
Those stories aren’t narrative epics by any stretch. They are little
pastoral scenes, filled with journeys (both spiritual and physical) and more
than a little casual alcohol consumption. On “Rising Sun” she sings:
“I’m so tired and a little drunk
Just want you to hold me
‘Till my time is up”
She follows this up on the second track (“Sand Dunes”) with “drinking
my wine/On a Saturday night” and by Track Seven (“Islands”) she’s
switched to the hard stuff and is “drinking margaritas/On a Saturday night.”
The songs suggest evening drinking, but it feels more like a summer evening. The
sun may be low in the sky and casting some doubtful shadows (Durant throws in
more than a few doubts and worries into her lyrics), but it’s still warm and surrounded
by her high lilt, making it all seem endurable.
The songs meander a little, but they are thought-provoking like a daydream,
when you think deep thoughts but not with a particular focus.
The whole album has this cohesive feel to it, with the exception of “Winterlude”
which stands out like a sore thumb. This one song is as wintry as the title
implies, and while it only lasts for 2:42 it kicked me out of the moment. That may
have been the idea, but it wasn’t a welcome jolt.
Fortunately, the next song, “Islands” has Durant back to reminiscing, as
she recalls wandering the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. She also takes the
opportunity to have another drink – this time it’s champagne.
“Islands” isn’t for everyone, and there are moments where I thought, “is
this a bit too cute?” It wasn’t for me, but it might be for you. There
are moments where the mix of soft horn, tinkling piano and Durant’s
hyper-sweet vocals definitely cross into twee territory. I liked the
experience, but if you need your music to have more gravitas than the occasional
thump of a bass note on a piano, you might want to look elsewhere. The lady
doesn’t mind a little yearning, but she’s not up for a full wallow.
There are also moments where she cuts her own melody early to introduce a
new concept to the song. This is kind of like that break in the middle of Samuel
Taylor Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan”; you can resent the interruption, or you can
enjoy the extra layer it affords the overall experience. For both Durant and
Coleridge, I find myself doing the latter.
It's a minor miracle that I bothered checking this record out at all.
Pitchfork gave the record a lowly 6.7/10 and Paste only 7.4. for all that, halfway
through the first notes of “Rising Sun” I knew I was hooked. It’s enough
to make you wonder what the hell critics know anyway. Other than me, of course.
You can trust me, gentle reader.
Best tracks: Rising Sun, Highway Blue, Good Ol’ Night, Islands
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