Forrest Hill has been around long enough to have worked out what’s important. As frontman for Boston’s Judy’s Tiny Head, he scored a regional hit and shared stages with such iconic acts as Violent Femmes, Run DMC, and Aimee Mann. But if that points to a younger man chasing the usual trappings of fame and fortune, his latest album reveals a different artist entirely. Here we find a songwriter more measured, more thoughtful, less concerned with the spotlight and more intent on making music that’s both considered and, indeed, considerate—someone who understands that the music you make is the reward in and of itself.
Beyond The Veil, his sixth album, is full of songs that err towards the folk-rock realm, which are both deftly crafted and ripe with wise words. These songs seem to shimmer in that middle ground between folk finesse and rock energy —a sonic sweet spot, if ever there was one.
“Another Day” opens the proceedings, a gentle piece that proves, firstly, that you don’t have to beat the audience over the head with a song just because it is the first one on the album, and secondly, that the Laurel Canyon sound can still be found echoing in the corners of modern music.
If ever there was a song that reminded us to live for the moment, to get on with things, to seize the moment and not wait for portents and signs or for the time to be right and the moment perfect, “Can’t Wait For a Saviour” is it whilst “Hold On To The Tears” is a delicate and delicious song exploring love, loss and longing.
We all start out chasing dreams and thinking about ourselves, but the best of us, and I definitely include Forrest Hill in this rarefied group, end up looking for life’s deeper meaning. Beyond the Veil is not only a sonically gorgeous album, but also a collection of songs that speak to us, head, heart, and soul.
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