Oh man! Just what we need: another understated singer-songwriter with delicate songs and tales to tell! But, in this case, we do, we do, because Luke Borchelt is one of those rare people doing something interesting and exciting within the genre.
But, to be fair, to say that Borchelt is just another singer-songwriter is a bit of a misconception anyway, and any thoughts of another love-lorn, sensitive, gap-year troubadour with skinny jeans and complicated hair should be discarded immediately. (Just check out his album cover and you’ll see what I mean.) As Every Rain proves, not only does he have the songs, but he understands how to mix up the deliveries and infuse them with sonic elements from other genres so that, sure, this album might be the sound of a singer-songwriter, in the traditional sense, but it is also the sound of such a performer taking a bold step forward, writing a crucial part of the next chapter for this sound and style.
The opener, “Same Old Square,” sets this tone perfectly. It is an acoustic ballad but one infused with a cool pop sheen, an almost hip-hop beat, and some quintessentially country licks, reminiscing on the formative, first stirrings of love.
“Itchin” is the sound of pop being injected with deftness, maturity, and no small amount of soulfulness. “Accent” is a suitably smooth, sophisticated, and ambiently washed song about home and nostalgia found in the most unlikely places. “Car Heat” is a shimmering and groovesome country-pop slow boogie.
All genres must move forward, even those established and identifiable as the singer-songwriter oeuvre. Every Rain is the sound of one rising artist doing precisely that. Maybe he’ll start a trend for such progressive thinking – we can only hope.
