Theater
WhatAboutMusic, 2021
9/10
The sophomore album from Benjamin Jayne, which is the duo of siblings Benjamin and Amanda Wright, Theater enters a more rock focused setting than their debut, Hi-Lo, and they even dabble in electronics, too.
“Talking Heads” starts the listen and makes an immediate impression with its psyche-folk tendencies as Benjamin’s deep, soulful vocals guide the mysterious and acoustic guitar fueled atmosphere, and “Waiting For Life” follows with a swifter pace of gentle singing amid a meditative sort neo-folk breeziness.
“Theater” lands in the middle and moves with echoed vocals and swift percussion as a modern indie-rock approach is delivered, while “All Will Wash Away” gets dreamy, poetic and even hypnotic with its absorbing guitar work. “Moonshiner”, another exceptional tune, then builds into a beautifully textured climate of dark folk rock that suits any decade since the ‘60s.
“Glorious” and “Lies Divide” finish out the listen, where the former leads gentle before erupting into a buzzing execution of nearly alt-rock crunch, and the latter emits much elegance alongside warm strumming and timeless instrumentation.
Primarily a solo effort, Benjamin wrote and recorded the album with help from Drew Skinner on production and mixing, and Amanda contributed bells, backing vocals and keys. A very well thought out and lyrically relevant 2nd record, Theater sounds right at home in a loud rock venue just as it does soundtracking an intimate campfire as Benjamin Jayne put a unique and memorable spin on folk rock.
Travels well with: Spencer Cullum- Coin Collection; Brian Cullman- Winter Clothes