Love And The Front Lawn
Fierce Panda, 2022
8/10
Listen to Love And The Front Lawn
St. Arnaud returns with his sophomore album, where plenty of atmospheric production and a meticulously layered sound that's often bright and embraces pop ideas is present.
“Cle Elum, WA” starts the listen with calm singing with a hint of grit as light instrumentation emits a dreamy quality, and “Catching Flies” continues the laid back approach with warm acoustic guitar amid more firm singing and precise drumming.
Halfway through, “How Could I Ever Compare” tips its hat to ‘70s soft-rock with a hint of modern indie-rock in attendance, too, while “Feeling Better”, the album’s best, carries traces of ‘60s folk-rock buried in the detailed guitar and punchy drumming.
Moving towards the end, “Tie It All Together” is about as forceful as he’ll get here, where rugged melodies and angular guitars align with precision, and “Giving Up” exits the listen with an intimate acoustic tune that’s quite personal and poetic.
A listen that revolves around self-reflection, vulnerability and rawness, similarities to Damien Jurado and Jonathan Richman won’t be hard to spot as this Canadian singer-songwriter makes a big impression.
Travels well with: Thirsty Eyes- A Certain Regard; Babel- Yoga Horror