Some of the greatest songwriters have been described as elusive and mysterious by the media because of their unease in giving interviews. You can’t find many videos of Bob Dylan, Neil Young or Leonard Cohen yapping about their daily lives. But just how much more do we want them to reveal?
The very best songwriters, nearly without exception, are the ones who wrote about themselves to an almost obsessive degree. If you need to know what Dylan was doing in a particular year, well, there are recordings of it. These documents just come in the form of songs, not social media posts.
Lee Trent takes a similar approach to his musical work, chronicling the great and small details of every life. And, on the new EP, “In Presence,” the songwriter makes sure that the feelings that accompany each event are kept intact and unchanged. In doing so, listeners may, ultimately, find a bit of themselves in Trent’s songs.
But that’s not to say that Trent is preachy. Not at all. The EP breezes by like a chat with a good friend. Take the warm indie-folk of the opener “The Dashboard Incident.” The singing and production work well on their on. But it’s the songwriter’s lyrics, the realization of what life can and should be, that will make you want to return to it.
The acoustic-guitar-driven groove “Warm Winter Collision” is just unobtrusive sounding even if Trent is wrestling with the issues of lost loves and fate.
“Moonbeams,” is a giddy song about truthful, overpowering affection with a verse that brings to mind late 60s British prog. Meanwhile, “Abrupt,” with subtle lead and keyboard piano colouring that colours inside the lines, displays more of Trent’s songwriting gifts and earnest interest in other people’s lives.
You’ll also learn a lot from the final two quiet, unassuming songs here. “Hardd Abrill” is a gorgeous little number reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. And, “Subtle Waves” with its shaky slide guitar helps wash the whole experience down.
Where does it all leave us? It left this writer in a better mood for having heard it. Trent is a good songwriter, but one that does not walk the long road alone. The “In Presence” songs are constructed to accompany others down their own roads. Lou Reed was wrong, as it turns out. Songwriters can be pleasant and deep at the same time.
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