On this episode of The Closing Track, we review the newest release from Dustin Kensrue and then go #Schaefferstyle on the newest Mumford and Sons album. Does “Wilder Mind” live up to the Mumford and Sons name? How does the new sound work? We answer those questions and more, plus talk about the positive benefits the Mumford phenomenon has given to the music scene. We also talk Brett’s temporary departure from the show, how to make a “potion”, and more!
(What follows below is a guest review written by Andrew M. Akins. His grade and the grade given by Austin are the same.)
Josh Garrels’ latest release, Home, came out last month – April 7, to be exact. And yes, it’s also true that we haven’t written a review for it yet. Call it what you will. I’m going to call it a combination of preoccupation and trying to digest this album entirely. Thus, it’s taken this long to write this review.
But you’re also thinking something else.
Could Garrels’ new album possibly be better than his last critically acclaimed release, Love & War & the Sea In Between, an album that was featured by news outlets ranging from Christianity Today to NPR?
The answer is yes. Absolutely yes. Garrels’ Home is a story. I mean, he’s always written stories with his albums, but this one takes the cake. The arc of Home draws heavily from the story of the Prodigal Son (if you haven’t read it, pick up a Bible and find Luke 15:11-32), the story of a son – the narrator – effectively estranging himself from his father, turning his back, only to find himself broken by his own transgressions. He decides to return back to his father, a faint hope of reconciliation. The crazy thing happens, and his father invites him back with wide open arms, and throws a feast. The father in this story is God.
In fact, Garrels’ language in the album is openly biblical. I count much more church word usage (CWU) in Home than in previous albums, unapologetically singing “Lord” more often than not, in a posture of respect. His message is clear – he is sinful on his own, and he can’t even right himself by his own power, singing on “The Arrow”: “My shield, my fight for righteousness could not protect me from myself.” You could call that phrase thesis number one.
Garrels said of this album beforehand that he wanted to write something more joyful and victorious. After the first five songs, every listener collectively exclaims, “Joyful?! What?!” as Garrels’ lyrics convey a sense of brokenness. The opener, “Born Again”, is an orchestral-anchored track, pulsating with electronica-influenced overlays that throw Home in an experimental direction. Garrels sings, “Running scared in between / What I hate and what I need“, bringing plenty of question marks. It leads right into “Colors”, an early bright spot – a tasteful blues jam about bringing glory to God. However, the most notable first-half track, and perhaps the notable track of the whole album is “The Arrow”. It’s aggressively blues rock, unlike Garrels’ traditional musical prowess; he sings the whole song in falsetto and belts (I mean BELTS) the chorus. This song will have you saying “Mmm!” for a long time, musically; lyrically it’s much more desperate and broken: It’s a song asking for forgiveness.
The rest of the album, however, is very victorious (the second thesis: coming home). “The Arrow” cuts right into “Heaven’s Knife”, a classically melodic folk tune about Garrels’ marriage which will leave you in joyous tears (it’s certainly a future wedding song of mine). The folk austere continues – “Morning Light” is a rich blend of traditional folk with Americana instrumentation, singing about letting back in the light when we are humiliated in the dark, “And all will be made well, once again“. He then throws a very Bon Iver-esque song into the mix with “Always Be”, glittering piano melodies fading into the mandolin-led “Home At Last”. Despite the predominant use of harmonic minor, “Home At Last” makes you feel indeed, home at last, with trumpets welcoming your return at the end of the track. Strangely, Garrels’ most predictable track musically is “At the Table”, placed at the end of this unpredictable album, thereby making it unpredictable. Sonically it resembles “Farther Along” from his previous album: melodious instrumentation overlaid by a stylistically hip hop beat; this track will touch your heart in a very poetic and spiritual way, Garrels singing, “Come home, home to me / And I will hold you in my arms, and joyful be / There will always, always be / A place for you at my table“. This is the prodigal son returning home to his father. This is the feast. But he’s still not done. He touches your heart again with the closing track, “Benediction”; parting words over soft acoustic harmonies that ensure you when the road gets steep, joy is still offered at the table. It’s the perfect ending to an unbelievable album.
After listening to Garrels’ Home, you’re left without words (hence the time it took to write this review). It’s that good. The outstanding melodies combined with its lyrics, dripping with the gospel, Home will give you a hope like none other. Do you mess up? Do you need forgiveness? Oh yes; me too. But there’s always a place for you at the table. So come home.
Second Opinion: I reviewed Home back on episode 31 of The Closing Track, a few weeks after it came out. I echo here in print what I said on the show and what my friend Andrew eloquently stated – this release will leave you without words upon an initial spin. I discovered Garrels with his release Love & War & The Sea In Between and I gotta say that, the immense quality of that record aside, Home is a significant step up from the high standard set by it’s predecessor. Home is much more straightforward and accessible, but if anything that makes the record all the more deeper and fuller. By narrowing the range of his musical experimentation and striving to do more with less, Garrels allows for the thematic content of his songs to shine through more clearly than in Love & War. The album is beautiful, well produced, and a solid release from beginning to end, and cements itself as one of 2015’s must-listen releases. – Austin
On this episode of The Closing Track, Austin and Brett review the newest Avengers movie and talked about what they liked, what they didn’t like, and answer the most pressing question: was this one better than the first Avengers? Brett also reviews the newest release from Zac Brown Band and we talk Daredevil and home brewing and weird Japanese anime and more!
On this episode of The Closing Track, we WERE going to talk about the For Today news revolving around Samuel Penner, but we got so deep into reviewing some good new music from Natalie Rogers, Kings Kaleidoscope, Apocalyptica, and Josh Garrels! Plus we talk TIDAL, Record Store Day sales, the Sweetums- er, Sweet Stuff Foundation, and more! Plenty of beer talk this time around as well!
In the age of Garageband and Noisetrade, standing out in certain genres is harder than ever. Saturation is at an all-time high, and shows no sign of letting up. This is especially true if you are a singer songwriter – artists in the field are a dime a dozen, and sorting the ones worth hearing and passing up is no easy task. If you’re not standing out in some way, you’re not standing for very long, if at all.
Thankfully, with her debut solo EP, Natalie Rogers has a shot of being one of those who will – and should- stand out from the crowd.
Natalie’s EP is pretty standard fare as far as on-paper details go – four songs, clocking in at 15ish minutes. Thankfully, each of those four songs pack enough of a punch to make this EP stronger than the rough details wound hint at. The four tracks are unique in their own respective – from the folk-rock opening cut “Samuel” to the twangified folk closer “Future Glory” and the various blends of folk, country, and even a bit of indie in between. Though there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in her Bob Dylan-esq songwriting, its her vocal delivery – think a countrified Audrey Assad, or a cleaner Norah Jones – does the majority of the heavy lifting here. Free of flare and effects, Natalie merely sings, and it’s enough to warrant multiple, repeated plays. She has just enough twang to make you think of old school country, but has enough smoothness and clarity to appeal to a broad range of listeners. But the biggest strength of this album is the genuineness – from songwriting to delivery, you are hearing the thoughts and songs of an artist. No agenda, no talking points – just songs to sing, and to enjoy for the sake of being good songs.
Natalie’s EP is full of southern charm and honesty, with some simple (yet pleasing) arrangements set to gorgeously delivered lyrics. This EP is a teaser of good things to come, and hopefully they come sooner rather than later.
In the age of Garageband and Noisetrade, standing out in certain genres is harder than ever. Saturation is at an all-time high, and shows no sign of letting up. This is especially true if you are a singer songwriter – artists in the field are a dime a dozen, and sorting the ones worth hearing and passing up is no easy task. If you’re not standing out in some way, you’re not standing for very long, if at all.
Thankfully, with her debut solo EP, Natalie Rogers has a shot of being one of those who will – and should- stand out from the crowd.
Natalie’s EP is pretty standard fare as far as on-paper details go – four songs, clocking in at 15ish minutes. Thankfully, each of those four songs pack enough of a punch to make this EP stronger than the rough details wound hint at. The four tracks are unique in their own respective – from the folk-rock opening cut “Samuel” to the twangified folk closer “Future Glory” and the various blends of folk, country, and even a bit of indie in between. Though there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had in her Bob Dylan-esq songwriting, its her vocal delivery – think a countrified Audrey Assad, or a cleaner Norah Jones – does the majority of the heavy lifting here. Free of flare and effects, Natalie merely sings, and it’s enough to warrant multiple, repeated plays. She has just enough twang to make you think of old school country, but has enough smoothness and clarity to appeal to a broad range of listeners. But the biggest strength of this album is the genuineness – from songwriting to delivery, you are hearing the thoughts and songs of an artist. No agenda, no talking points – just songs to sing, and to enjoy for the sake of being good songs.
Natalie’s EP is full of southern charm and honesty, with some simple (yet pleasing) arrangements set to gorgeously delivered lyrics. This EP is a teaser of good things to come, and hopefully they come sooner rather than later.
On this episode of The Closing Track, Austin and Brett, along with their old friend Jon, recount their crazy Record Store Day experience in Oklahoma City. We discuss our vinyl hauls, the range of record shops we visited, the things we like and dislike about vinyl, and drink some Ranger Creek Bourbon while we recount unexpected toll roads and delicious burgers. Free beer aging reco included!
On this episode of The Closing Track, we put our thinking caps on and discuss the new Nightwish album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”. We have an informal chat about Richard Dawkin’s monologues and other worldview issues pertaining to the album while praising its outstanding musical quality. We also talk about the new Mumford and Sons single, the fact that Left Behind 2 is in the works, the Amarillo Opera’s rendition of Les Mis, and more!
For this issue of The Staff Speaks, we ask: “When you think of the word ‘music,’ what is an album which you think best encapsulates the art form, and why?”
A riveting question. Riveting responses are as follows:
Brett: I would have to say Horizons by Anubis Gate. This album contains enough music theory to satisfy the most enthusiastic music nerd, but is accessible enough for anyone to enjoy. The lyrical content is extremely poetic, and is something I can point to as a good model for other bands to follow. This isn’t the greatest album ever made, but it’s shifting chord changes and various stylistic choices shows that these guys know how to make music.
Josh: The trickiest thing about this question for me is that my instinct is to turn to the sorts of albums that might make my top ten list. Several of these, however, are admittedly flawed in some ways, and while I think they are some of the best out there, they hardly exemplify the diversity of expressions music takes as an art form. So, thinking about an album that is not only phenomenal and groundbreaking, but also fairly diverse in representing what all
artists are capable of accomplishing with music, I’m going to pick “Songs in the Key of Life” by Stevie Wonder. Probably not his highest rated album, but still one a classic, and the album I’m probably most familiar with. no matter how you’re feeling, you’ll probably connect to the album, and walk away with a smile on your face.
Austin: Narrowing down this list to just one release is not an easy task. It’s like the Desert Island question, only far more restrictive. But, of the five albums that I would want accompanying me out in the middle of the ocean, of those five my pick would have to go with Opeth’s “Watershed”. While it restricts its emotional themes to the depressing side of the spectrum, the musical variation runs the gamut of folk, rock, metal, jazz, experimental, and more. Stellar musicianship and mysteriously obscure (though passionate) lyrics make this album one of my favorites, and songs like “Burden” and “Hessian Peel” are examples of sheer aural amazingness.
How would you answer the question? Leave us your thoughts below!
My reviews always start with some kind of interesting quip about the artist or my experience with their music, or something like this. This time, I’m just going to let Kendrick take it from here:
To Pimp A Butterfly’s release was surrounded by nearly tangible anticipation. Kendrick Lamar’s fame after the release of good kid, m.A.A.d city was well-attested, but the oddities that were the singles (and leaked tracks) in the months approaching the release of Kendrick’s newest project only left listeners with more questions than answers about what the final album would look and sound like.
Listeners are immediately cued into the core themes of the album. “Wesley’s Theory” begins with a Boris Gardiner chorus which signals the issues of racial discrimination and systematic violence which the album addresses throughout. Kendrick’s collaborations (Snoop Dogg on “Institutionalized,” for example) and emulation of a variety of speech forms and genres (see “Institutionalized,” again, as well as “The Blacker The Berry”) serve to index Kendrick’s authority to speak on matters of social injustice. This culminates in a simulated interview with 2Pac on the album’s closing track, “Mortal Man.”
“I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence.” In gradual bits of spoken word between tracks, Kendrick reminds the listener that his role as a musician and, in turn, a social voice, is complex. A prophetic voice in an already prophetic genre, Kendrick clearly embraces the position in To Pimp A Butterfly, while also reminding the listener that his is simply another person. “u,” in particular, tugs at heartstrings, as Kendrick transparently describes his disappointment with himself (“Where was your presence? / Where was your support that you pretend? / You ain’t no brother, you ain’t no disciple, you ain’t no friend. / A friend never leave Compton for profit….”). While he may be a sort of hip-hop messiah, he’s also burned his own bridges and feels the consequences of his decisions and actions.
The album’s explicit language should be addressed as well: the full variety of vulgarities make appearances on the album, including liberal use of derogatory terms for African Americans. Ultimately, the album’s emphasis on racial reconciliation may require this, but it may alarm some listeners.
To Pimp A Butterfly is layered with meaning, an emotional diary entry from Kendrick Lamar. A diverse and creative rap release, Kendrick Lamar’s newest album reminds us of his continually evolving and innovating talent, and we’re sure to continue to see fantastic and meaningful releases from him.
The Closing Track 