It was only a couple of years ago that I found out what the word “apenglow” meant, and that was because it was the title of a song I was reviewing. I won’t spoil your learning moment by explaining it (“you won’t learn if you don’t do the work yourself” as my dad used to say to me) but if ever there was a musical personification of that word, this opening track to Arily Michele’s third album is it.
As this first song makes clear, the idea of capturing the natural world in sound is at the heart of this gorgeous album, and the title itself stems from the observation that wildflowers often quickly reestablish themselves in the landscape after a forest fire, making them the perfect symbol of resilience in an ever-changing, and sometimes violently so, world.
‘butterfly garden’ is a gorgeous blend of dreamy-pop and finessed folk, and the fact that it makes me want to play Sandy Denny’s timeless ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ shows what a classic vibe runs through these contemporary songs, familiar echoes bubbling up through fresh sounds. Perfect!
‘Silver Dollar’ moves into more human concerns: that classic story of ambition and fame in the big city and how realising your dreams is never enough; ‘palo santo’ is an ethereal country-pop song…if that is even a thing…, ‘anywhere but here’ is what would happen if you used atmospheres and drifting sentiments to build an anthem, big and impressive yet opaque and ephemeral and ‘waning gibbous’ ends on the same metrological delicacy that ushered us in.
There are many themes and ideas found on Meditation For Wildflowers: many places and peoples, genres and geographies, thoughts and musings woven through its graceful sonics, but the landscape of the Rocky Mountains, its skies and vistas, scenery and serenity is what seems to loom large in the background of every song here, like a recurring character whose presence is always felt if not directly seen.
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