Review Summary: I want to take the day off and just wander around with you
I'm not sure if this is relatable, but it is sometimes difficult for me to think back to the point in my life when I did not know my wife well. At the start of the relationship, I was aware that I
liked this person, that there was something there, and that was enough. One of my most enduring memories is probably not even that early in our time together, but I remember waiting for her at the airport after she attended a conference. I was calm but giddy, and I had to control my expression while waiting; I kept smiling shyly. Eventually, after a few families, friends and lovers had been reunited, the doors parted at arrivals and she appeared. She was wearing a silver silk shirt with an oversized bow at the front, and she had a giant overnight bag that appeared almost comically larger than her slung over her shoulder. She was gripping the straps with both hands, and the weight made her appear like a mischevious sprite, as if her being was a hat worn at a jaunty angle. Her hair was clipped up, and she had a slight grin, and when we hugged my senses were overwhelmed, as if I enclosed within a peony.
Alice Boman's newest release is the definition of simple - musically, lyrically, and emotionally. Warm piano chords with just a two note streak overlaid define the opener, until the refrain of "it takes time" is buffeted by the almost gospel sigh of the backing vocals. That feeling of being suspended in uncertain, numb sweetness is carried over into "Feels like a dream". Perfume Genius keeps cropping up everywhere lately, and his tentative vocal trembles and cracks in all the space on offer. This atmosphere is round and smooth like a tabletop lovingly sanded to be an endless oval.
The lyrics are all distillations; there are no complexities on offer, just the absolute primaries of infatuation, wonder or disappointment. Most of the instrumentation conjures comfort; dots of brass and pulses of organ do not try to feature but simply to accent. One of the only tracks that seems to assume overt form is "Where to put the pain". The street patter drums combine with single note piano direction markers to mimic the feeling of concern expressed in the vocal. But it's still sweet and soft, and feels as if made from the corners of dreams slipping away in the waking moment. Closer "Space" also employs a few more layers of percussion, and it's a direction that would serve her well on future releases.
This is a strange record to write about or rate - I know that for many, it will seem just too basic. However, if you would like a reminder of certain formative experiences woven into the fabric of a romantic relationship, then I would say that Boman has succeeded in creating that state of mind. It's a chance to revisit that moment when reason surrenders to commotion in the soul, a temporary gateway to the phase of our lives where surface details last seconds but feel like hours. When this passes, there are wonders that spring up in the hidden recesses of the time we spend with someone we truly love, and they would never be seen without the difficulties and trials of staying together. However, looking back every now and then at the glorious, mysterious, unknown light at the entrance of the tunnel is good for us - it makes us a little more tender, more thankful, and maybe even a better partner.
