Review Summary: Consensual Wisdom reveals Bendigo Fletcher at their roots: full of heart, depth, and endearing quirks. It's also one of the best indie-folk debuts I've heard.
I recently stumbled upon one of my new favorite indie-folk outfits: a Louisville, KY quintet that goes by the name Bendigo Fletcher. They've been quietly toiling away, with two LPs and two EPs to their name in just six years. Even though they've been around in some capacity since 2015, it's still unlikely that you've heard of this bunch, who only just now signed to a major label via Elektra. Although they have a brand new album,
Fits of Laughter, on-deck for a release this August, I'd still heartily recommend taking a trip back in time to their tender, stripped-down debut
Consensual Wisdom. The album represents folk in its purest form: plucked acoustic guitars underscore soaring harmonies to create an experience that feels close to both nature and human nature. It's aesthetically raw and emotionally warm, serving as a brilliant launching pad for the band.
Bendigo Fletcher's greatest asset is without question lead singer Ryan Anderson. His voice is ideally suited for elevating bare, elemental folk via profound (but often strange) lyrics and emotional delivery. For example, on the closing track 'Wonderfully Bizarre', he sings "We'll collect fallen out teeth in a candy jar / Mice for the backyard peregrine falcon reservation" only breaths removed from the heartbreakingly romantic musing, "Sometimes I feel so empty and low / But your eyes prescribe a meaning / For everything I do." It may sound like I'm trying to paint Anderson's prose as black-and-white, but the contrast between the two styles lends
Consensual Wisdom its charm - the former allows Bendigo Fletcher to stand out from an endless sea of indie-folk bandcampers, while the latter enriches the music with poignant, relatable content. The title of the song from which these excerpts were quoted is actually oddly fitting of the vocal/lyrical styles deployed here: they're both wonderful and bizarre.
Most of
Consensual Wisdom is centered around the philosophy of pairing Anderson's idiosyncratic tendencies with lush and gorgeously simplistic folk music. It works like a charm, lending credence to comfortably familiar comparisons such as Simon and Garfunkel, or for this site's local audience perhaps a more countryish, bluegrass-leaning Tigers on Trains. It's unlikely that either of those comparisons will hold up as totally accurate, but they're in a similar talent space which is saying a lot. They haven't fully realized that potential yet, but they display enough promise to surmise that it's in the cards. Just listen to 'Cormac', where immaculately gorgeous vocal harmonies are met by the beautiful sentiment, "Lover lay down under plumes of fire / Hold on to my hand, we'll be free of worry / Each the other's world entire." One-and-a-half minute ditties aren't supposed to be breathtaking, but that's Bendigo Fletcher: they effortlessly deliver the unexpected. 'Pinhead Boy' might be the best singular example of why you should be excited about this band, as Anderson blends anecdotes about learning how to moonwalk, falling asleep in the car, and making out behind a fast food truck into something that not only makes an odd amount of sense, but that also serves as a poetic depiction of each stage of a relationship: falling deeply in love, having your heart broken, and eventually emerging stronger than before.
Consensual Wisdom is one of those albums that washes over you in stages. Your first impression will most likely be that it is a well-executed folk album, and you won't be wrong. As the record's unconventional lyrics and the power of Ryan Anderson's voice begin to reveal themselves, however, it will grow into so much more. The sheer beauty of Bendigo Fletcher's music on this particular piece can't be overstated, not on an aesthetic level nor an intellectual one. The list of quotable verses (they're actually more like parables) feels endless, and that's exactly what you want on a stripped-down debut: stunning atmospheres, and words that echo with more truth every time they're heard. Because of that,
Consensual Wisdom is one of those albums whose lore grows with each passing day - maybe not literally, but certainly within the minds of those who've heard this absolute gem of modern indie-folk.
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