ARCHER PREWITT, "WILDERNESS"

It's been close to three years since graphic illustrator and Sea andCake guitarist, Archer Prewitt, released his wonderfully poppy disc, Three.In the meantime he's had a busy few years: performing with his liveband; the death of his father; recording and subsequent touring withSea and Cake. With Wilderness, his fifth recording as a soloartist, he's again picked up with his ongoing love with '70s pop/rocksensibilities, which are apparent in his compositions.Thrill Jockey
However, thistime out the classic songwriting hooks and riffs which grabbed myattention on previous recordings aren't as plentiful. Prewitt'ssongwriting and arrangements have become fragmented with a fair bit ofdynamic shifts to create drama ranging from joyous to sullen, sometimeswithin the same song. While good and strong progressions and melodiesabound, on tracks such as "Leaders" and "O, KY," it sounds as thoughPrewitt hadn't been too concerned with smooth transitions betweensections. Instead, he uses a fair bit of stops/starts and forced tempochanges that come across as stream-of-consciousness songwriting.Although an interesting approach for a concept album, Prewitt's takingliberties created a fair bit of distraction and had me checking myplayer's tracking to see if I was still listening to the same song.Drop-tuned acoustic guitar matched with piano, strings and bowed vibesenhance the great sense of loss on "No More" with wavering vocalssinging lines such as "There's no more running from it now / I haveoften wondered what's our move / There's no more wondering about it now/ Now our time is here." Prewitt quickly became one of my favoriteguitarists after I saw him perform years ago as part of fellow Sea andCake member Sam Prekop's band, thanks in part to a combination of hischord voicings, which added a slight jazz complexity, and his overalltone. I spent the better part of a year listening to Prekop's solorecord, not just for its overall musical greatness, but also forPrewitt's augmentation which I could clearly pick out from havingwitnessed it live. That same style of slightly angular performancewelcomingly turns up on the smokey "Think Again" and pushes on with theheavier-handed, strings and horns-dotted "Cheap Rhyme" for an overalluplifting number. The moods of Wilderness gradually become morecheerful with each passing track thanks to lush vocal layers and otherorchestral augmentation. I considered the possibility of this being a"concept" album, only to give it up and take it for what it is: aquirky yet sincere pop record. 

samples:

• O, KY
• Judy, Judy
• Wilderness

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