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The music world, for years now, has been steadily watching the old guard of strict genre lines slowly erode. This increasingly fluid approach to labeling music can make one ask themselves what the original labels meant in the first place, with “folk” being one of the most loosely defined genres out there. On Anna Tivel’s latest release, Outsiders, brilliantly imaginative instrumentation and production intertwine with Tivel’s precise, relevant and cinematic storytelling to once again open up the possibilities of what folk music can be.
Recorded live to tape and without the musicians knowing the songs beforehand, the intimacy and vulnerability is palpable from the start as the opening lines of the title track transport listeners to a serene carnival orbiting the earth like a deleted scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The idea that we can achieve great things together may be starting to feel like a pipe dream, but Tivel’s whimsical delivery reminds us that we’ve done it before, and it was beautiful.
As the opening ambient drone to the second track, “Umbrella”, begins, it’s clear this is going to be one of those albums that’s so aesthetically cohesive that it’s always going to need to have been listened to all the way through. A slow and understated dynamic swell from the band allows Tivel’s clear and soft enunciation to wrap you up in the tragic storyline so completely that the scenes effortlessly play out like a movie inside your head that thoroughly shakes you despite its beauty.
“Astrovan” and “Heroes” both display stark honesty that’s full of love and understanding as well as painful realities. While the former, a dreamy, wistful waltz, takes on the hard truths that always begin to surface in a relationship after the initial spark is lit, the latter brings out the first hard edges on the album both lyrically and musically. The heavily syncopated percussion track from the album’s Producer Shane Leonard brings an unexpected but well-fitted drive to the album’s flow while the song deals with the all too often self-fulfilling tragic stories of songwriters who can’t seem to stop emulating the personal pitfalls and failures of the artistic greats that came before them.
The gentle fingerpicking of “Dark Horses” gives way to a melody that would feel at home on stage in a musical as the calm contemplation of all the complex human triumphs and follies that are about to lead up to the play’s climax. Aside from Tivel’s knack for creating melodies that serve her stories in an inseparable way, the inventive arrangements and production throughout the album bring a whole other dimension to songs like “Royal Blue” and “The Dial”. Subtle vocoder, organ, and electric guitar flourishes come and go in loose-knit patterns that bring a warm, organic ambiance to the songs while the percussion parts are so intertwined in the arrangements it’s as if they take on melodies of their own. The remorseless voids talked about in “Ruins” are filled by the restrained and subtle crescendos of the band as they communicate with each other to support the song’s vivid imagery.
“Invisible Man” is a brutally honest and reflective look at how society deals with the different types of fears, sympathies, and susceptibilities it feels towards mental illness. Tivel say’s this album is “about looking more deeply into ourselves and each other, really trying to see and examine the internal and external forces that keep us from connecting in real ways and the forces that draw us together.” The realization that we are all much closer to becoming what we fear, or don’t understand than we think helps to bridge the gaps that form between us and our fellow human beings. “Invisible Man” exemplifies this route to empathy over an engaging collage of syncopated grooves and watery, atmospheric synths and guitars.
After the cathedral-like choruses of “The Basement” fade into the ether, Tivel ends the album by bringing it all back home in a way. Structurally, “The Bell” most closely fits the mold of what many think of as a folk song. With just acoustic guitar and vocals with just a touch of restrained, atmospheric electric guitar, listeners are left with the sentiment that there’s still hope to make some changes for good out there but getting it done is gonna hurt a bit, and that’s alright.
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