I may be reading too much into this, but with more and more albums embracing the stripped-back musicality of Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, perhaps things are on the turn. Possibly, people are growing tired of the over-produced, over-loaded, over-polished, over-peacocked sound that modern studios can afford, even with the tightest budgets, and are turning to something honest, sparse, and authentic — something human-sounding.
Mahto & The Loose Balloons’ latest quartet of songs does suggest that might be the case. With just an acoustic guitar finger-picking delicate phrases or strumming simple rhythms, the vocals, and the stories they tell, again spacious and subtle, are given space to drift into our consciousness.
And this space means that there is room to hear and appreciate the lyrics and tune to their fullest. “Parking Lots” is the sound of modern folk in action, resting as much on understated indie and acoustic pop as it does folk; it ticks all the right boxes in each of those genres.
“Self-Portrait at 30” sounds like a 60’s folk revivalist troubadour reinvented, but not too much, for the modern age, especially when the harmonica, an instrument beloved by that scene, joins in. “Crisscross” is infused with a busker vibe, again reminding us that if less is more, then this much less must be oh so much more, and “Lunch w/ You (Bagels)” is melancholic yet melodic, humorous, and harmonious.
For far too long, the singer-songwriter sound has been marred by gimmicks and guile, a genre characterized by fashion and fad-driven,wide-brimmed hats and designer stubble, style-over-substance deliveries. Well, this is the fight back: songs with style and substance, an honest voice, and an unadorned guitar. Music boiled down to its very essence, and all the better for it.
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