Solvents - Forgive Yr. Blood (Bee Resin)

Solvents‘ singer/guitarist Jarrod Bramson’s songs are thoughtful with a wide array of influences that makes the music hard to put into a box. Bramson’s vocals are positively desperate and disarming. with a great deal of vulnerability there. But while Bramson is the primary songwriter, violinist Emily Madden’s contributions are just as invaluable. She lends the compositions a sometimes light, sometimes ominous layer and can change the entire tone of a song. Because of this dynamic, half of Forgive Yr. Blood could very easily fit on a soundtrack to a modern western (I could definitely hear “Empty Vessel Blues,” in a saloon scene), while other songs come across as soulful deconstructions of tunes from John Hughes teen flicks (“We Were Guests Here,”).

These aren’t complex arrangements as there are never more than three instruments at once. Any more would be clutter within the lo-fi production. The songs remind me of a stripped down Arcade Fire. There is also a bit of a hodgepoge genre-wise with some folk (“It’s Alright Maisey,”), some indie pop (“Soft Reminders,”), while closer, “The Coastal Plain”, resembles a backing track from the Beastie Boys‘ Check Your Head. Even with all of these flavors, there is no hint of pretentiousness. These are honest and heartfelt songs that should lead to their breakthrough.