Truth Is
Animada, 2022
8/10
An album that was birthed during the dissolution of a 20 year marriage, Vanessa Lively underwent unimaginable self-examination while penning Truth Is, and her meshing of folk, funk, pop and worldly sounds helps make for a very powerful and enlightening listen.
“(Truth Is) I Am Found” opens the listen with Lively’s soulful pipes alongside hand clapping, warm bass from Katie Marie and Dirje Childs’ strong cello playing in the very expressive climate, and “Crumbling Down” follows with a very poetic approach that benefits from Lively’s intimate pipes and Nicolette Good’s well timed backing vocals.
In the middle, the playful strings of “Running With Wolves” are met with vivid storytelling, while “In Between” offers a delicate, acoustic guitar fueled, folk friendly album highlight.
Closer to the end, “I Am A Skylark” showcases Mark Hallman’s ukulele and Andre Moran’s electric guitar in the more haunting display that uses spoken word, too, and “Besando la Tierra” exits the listen with Lively handling piano and Good playing glockenspiel on the very eloquent and stirring finish.
An extremely cathartic endeavor, Lively’s work is optimistic, empowering and represents an artist in a transitional phase that brings us on a journey into peaceful, engaging song craft.
Travels well with: Jess Jocoy- Such A Long Way; Lynne Hanson- Ice Cream In November