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This has been one of the most formative and transformative albums to enter my little world, and it has seen me through many iterations of growth over the past 10 plus years. All of Angelās work is stunning in its own right, and I admire her and the way she continues to experiment with her sound and new genres, but her debut albumĀ Half Way HomeĀ will forever live inside the most tender place in my heart. The control she has over her voice is mystifying; she yodels, croons, shrieks and hums. And the writing is as profound as the melodies are. I couldnāt possibly pick a favorite from the album, but some of my current favorites areĀ Safe In the Womb, Free, and You Are Song. Bonus:Ā This softly powerful performance Angel gave ofĀ MirandaĀ at Grant Street Bakery in 2012.
May 4, 2025
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Half Way Home and Strange Cacti EP are still my favorite material of her's, that voice is so powerful I wish I could see her in a church. Thus I feel like the fewer adornments around her the better (although "Chance" from All Mirrors is also great in this regard)
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22Ā° HaloāsĀ Lily of the ValleyĀ is a collection of songs written by Philly-based songwriter Will Kennedy during his wife Kateās treatment for a very rare brain cancer. For full transparency, Will and Kate are close friends of mine ā Kateās treatment was a tremendous weight on my chest, and the news of her cancer going dormant was one of the high points of recent years for me. This album hit me hard as hell knowing the people behind it. But the more I listen, the more I marvel at the specificity and universality of what Will achieved here.
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What makesĀ Lily of the ValleyĀ such a remarkable album is the graceful confidence Kennedy presents these delicately intimate moments with. Itās incredibly difficult to write confident, commanding songs about such immense uncertainty. My jaw would drop at the sheer chutzpah of the recurring lead guitar on album opener āBird Sanctuaryā ā it sounds like This Heat playing Thin Lizzy! And these are somehow the first notes we hear to set the stage for Kennedyās recollections of some of the most precious, intimate moments of his relationship? Itās incredible.Ā
This propulsive feeling sustains throughout the album. āOrioles at Duskā is anthemic and climactic in an almost literal drive-into-the-sunset sense, and the closing, titular track could throw a crowd makes me want to beat the air with my fists. That an immense tenderness can remain at the forefront of songs with such electric energy, rather than something masked by the music itself, is a big part of what makes this album such a wonder.Ā
I hate to use a word like ājuxtapositionā but it really is this juxtaposition that got under my skin the first time I heard this album and has kept me coming back for 3-5 listens per week since then. If I heard this album without knowing the backstory, without paying attention to the lyrics or knowing Will or Kate, I would still place it as a new high point in the jangle pop canon. Itās how effortlessly Kennedy can get you to sing along with a song about the terror of watching the person you love most endure chemo that makes this a truly transcendent record.Ā
The lyrics are bracingly beautiful and generously specific. The songs sometimes take on a stream of consciousness quality, as if Kennedy is remembering moments both painful and uplifting in the same thought and listing them out as they arrive to him. The moments where Kate accompanies him vocally are among the most moving I heard this year. Kennedy has an uncanny ability to shed off self-consciousness in his music without ever demanding the listenerās attention. He is beautifully articulating a truth too deeply, painfully human to present as anything other than that; the truth.
Dec 30, 2024
I know this album cover is imprinted into the corneas of many already. but Iām listening to this ~8 yrs after I first found it, which sort of marked the start of my own self-discovery w music (along with, who else, but velvet underground). and since they are both so huge, Iāve had a hard time listening to them as earnestly in years since. of course relationships with music change, but I think I became embarrassed by the earnestness of this album & its internet overexposure. but it is sincere and beautiful (+ a little freaky and smutty) and it is very special to come back to every now and then. it turns on a certain part of my soul I canāt usually access when I come to it at the right moment. full of love and oneness w humanity, time transcendent
ālet us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can seeā
Mar 10, 2025
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Iām on an instagram break plus I like you guys more so please enjoy this painting I am proud of. Referencing Boschās garden of earthly delights, specifically the third āHellā panel ā¤ļøāš„ acrylic and gouache on raw canvas!
Feb 5, 2025
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Like I am sometimes haunted by thoughts and thinking too much can be low key scary
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