Alex Wong – “If You Want to You Will”
-If you’re a fan of relaxing acoustic guitar work, you’ll find a lot to like about this track. Wong has a lovely baritone voice that sits right in the middle of the recording. The rhythm is unhurried, allowing the listener to connect with the peaceful energy. The lyrics are about free will, basically, and how humans are ultimately responsible for the decisions they make. It’s existential and philosophical, yet goes down quite smooth. It’s a track that’s perfect to enjoy while meditating. Each question in the lyrics could result in its own entry in a journal, for sure. This is such a treat.
Isaac Stalling – “Covers”
-I listen to a lot of acoustic music, so for me to stop in my tracks and really listen it has to be pretty spectacular. Let me tell you; this guitar part is pretty spectacular. Then you have the lyrics…. the track has this wonderful critical commentary that feels more like reading a witty essay than listening to a folk song. This is definitely in the long tradition of folks like Dylan and Guthrie before him in terms of commenting on the state of the world using folk stylings and incisive commentary. The lyric about “smiling while we’re dying” is so utterly relatable, I had to take a moment after hearing it. The advice about learning how to live in the quiet was… uh… also relatable. I can’t believe how much I resonate with this track from both lyrics and music. I don’t just hear it… I feel it.
Ramsey Thornton – “Riverside”
-I once tried to curate a list that I called “Artful Folk” to feature music like this… there’s a beautiful guitar part that feels like it dips into experimental melodic structures, all while keeping this tender sincerity to it. I adore the style. Once Thornton’s vocal enters the track, there’s even more of that tender sincerity that comes through. The lyrics are poetic and genuine, which makes me lean in and want to listen closely. There’s a calm energy to the track, even though it has challenging and personal lyrics. It’s the kind of song that you can put on and just enjoy in the background because of the cathartic acoustic style. This one is an unexpected gem that makes me feel the way I felt when I first found the Milk Carton Kids.
Image courtesy: Alex Wong website
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