Old Names - A Forgiving Place

 

Released: September 13

A Forgiving Place is an incredibly intimate feeling album. An intimate feeling album whose name so perfectly fits its content. There is a unique blend of folk instrumentation and found sound experimentation that manifests in unexpected ways throughout the album’s seven tracks, sometimes in a manner indicative of quiet devotion and other time in a bit more boisterous fashion. But each of these differently colored moments bring about a sum total of emotion that feels peaceful, serene, and placid. For me, it feels a lot like home. Not home as in the sense of an actual house, but home as in it carries all the ambiance, the vibes, and the comfort of feeling at home. Easygoing, relaxed, and unhurried in all that is going on around me. 

The longest track on the album, “Nothing Can Bother Me,” is one that particularly stood out for me because of its incredible variation over the course of its near ten minute run. It opens up with a bit of spoken word coming through an old cassette recording repeating a mantra that matches up with the song’s title. As it progresses, the softly fingerpicked guitar drifts in as little noises continue along, eventually culminating in a noisy and hectic soundscape that slowly returns to the peace of earlier in the track. But going back to the spoken word, this is what really embodies the message of the album for me as it speaks out that “nothing can bother me… I feel safe in my house… even as it rains.” This mantra appears again right before the track becomes boisterous, giving more weight to its message wonderfully.