Hazlett – mountain of a memory
The bands that tend to be most successful are the ones that understand what they’re on stage for and, somehow, manage to accept it. They’re rare. Most artists, instinctively, want to show their audiences that they’re something different. Most artists feel the need to fight against their own success and to constantly prove themselves, to widen their own mystery.
The indie-folk artists of the last decade or so have been marvelously aware of what they’re here to do. They make arena-style music, for the most part, while providing the kinds of sounds that make you want to have a moment with yourself. They use acoustic, old-fashioned instrumentation to create grandiose musical statements about the nature of life, love and death.
And this is precisely what Hazlett’s “mountain of a memory” is good at doing. It’s a song that works by pressing against the strength of your own expectation. Will he do it? Surely, he’s not just going to build toward a towering crescendo of emotion? Well, Hazlett does precisely that, and I doubt that most listeners will mind. “mountain of a memory” provides just what it advertises – a quick glimpse at the valley of regrets, and an efficient pick-me-up.
Spare Souls – Provisions (Acoustic)
There’s so much that a computer can do. And when it comes to the music industry, the armies of producers and the hired guns brought into the studio to record songs on command have their limitations as well.
Now, this is especially important to consider nowadays with so many songs made using AI fooling so many listeners. Sure, there are endless songs that can be created at the flick of a button, within seconds. But are any of them worth hearing? Do any of them bring in the same kind of death as Spare Souls?
Each year that technology robs us of one more thing that a human used to have to do, we are reminded of the glorious nature of our imperfection. Each new year, we find greater reasons to admire, for example, the artistry of people who can use their musical talents.
It is often said that the greatest songs are the ones that manage to retain their qualities once the music has been stripped back of all the bells and whistles. Spare Souls deliver an acoustic version of the original song, “Provisions,” and it’s the orchestration and incredible warmth of the vocals that really manage to sell the tune. Add this as one more thing that you can’t do without a bit of soul.
