REVIEW: Everett Wren — Porchlight (LP)
Listening to Porchlight from St. Louis, Missouri-based Americana singer/songwriter Everett Wren and his band is like being witness to the weathered journals, hand written prose and daydreams. Within the band’s organic tones and rhythms is Wren’s award-winning fiddle playing. Dancing around the at-times bluegrass sound and forlorn steel pedal, the fiddle can be both somber and joyous. Still, through it all, the music is reflective of an artist with poignant story telling skills that reach beyond the heart. Porchlight is a beacon to yearn for — it’s one of the year’s best releases.
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/EverettWrenMusic
Even Wren’s name sounds as though he was a poet from another time. When the first song, “Billboard” started, I immediately fell under his spell. His voice is slightly gritty and as the songs tumble away, he might even sound froggy at times. Us reviewers like to call that ‘character’. I think there’s warmth in his voice and I feel like he’s also lived a life of experiences. “Billboard”, as do all the songs on this album, paints a clear picture for the listener to be right smack in the scene alongside Wren. He utilizes the idea of a percolating tea spout to start his sonic journey. Maybe the romanticized part of it all is that he’s just sitting on his porch and dreaming of the woman he loves, but something about “Billboard” especially struck me as a Wes Anderson-like score. The plunky guitars or perhaps a mandolin or banjo, further color this summer sonic landscape. Joining him in backing vocals is a rowdy, but to-the-point group. I could hear both male and female voices colliding. It’s as if they were telling tales and sharing harmonies around a campfire.
I loved the line between the Kerouac and the Adirondack chair, in the second song “Porchlight”. If ever there were a song for NPR’s The Moth or a college professor’s gazing soliloquies, Porchlight offers an elevated emotional experience from the opening song. The timed-tambourine beats reminded me of summer bugs, buzzing in the night, hitting the porchlight. Wren and his band quickly embed themselves, leaving you completely transfixed on what the next chapter, the next page to this page-turner is going to be.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/album/1620400156?fbclid=IwAR3LpVOjw_RY7Cz9B9AhGke8mlz_hTXJZY1dMtcxNwWIO-lV2F2ZJ1SrRMA
Of the 15 tracks on Porchlight, Wren penned 14. There are so many standouts, truly, but in addition to the opening pair of songs, I really dug “Wardrobe”, “Get Flowers” and “Shine In”. These songs brew together like a fine ale, and I found myself whisked away to a simpler time and place. That escape feels clear. The music arrangements are fantastic, with charming trinkets and bouncy grooves all the same. Peppered into the Americana beds are moments of bluegrass and Wren’s tendencies to echo the spirits of Bob Dylan, The Band and Gordon Lightfoot . He found a way to my heart, to my soul with Porchlight. I didn’t realize I was searching for something so mellow at times, and so restless in other instances. From “Billboard” to the bonus track, a cover of “Long Black Veil”, Everett Wren champions the American singer/songwriter in the excellent Porchlight.
Colin Jordan
