“Tide”
from the album And How!
2009
iTunes
Upon first listen to Weather Pending’s debut album, And How!, it would be difficult to shy away from such visuals, what with the mellow ambiance created by prevalent mood-inspiring tones and elements. From start to finish, the San Francisco-based acoustic party of three expertly exudes a pop-dreamy quality of sound on their ten-track debut; with a little dash of jazz, reggae, and slow electro-grooves, the album comes off with an end result as unpredictable as the weather, for lack of a better phrase.
And How! seems to have been created for the dreamers and wonderers, especially for those who find themselves lost in thought after a perception-shifting event, whether it is slighting, serving as an end of a moment, or an end of an era. Lyrically, it’s almost like having stumbled upon a personal journal or sketchbook that was never intended to be seen by the public.
Drawing comparisons to Fiona Apple’s tear-stained “Never is a Promise” from her respective debut Tidal, vocalist Janie Oliver’s active instruments and therefore weapons of choice are her smoldering vocals. She skillfully knows how to lure whoever is listening into a sense of security while harmonizing about the lone state of the heart on the journey called life.
Percussionist Rob Cross and guitarist Brian Bloi work together in creating an ever-moving stream of consciousness — somewhat a la John Mayer on his debut, Room for Squares, audibly defining a longing and sadness that can be comforting in relative interpretation.
Overall, And How! is beautiful summarizing of self-thought and isolated feeling that goes unappreciated in a world where it is pretty much advertised that a night out with your friends is all that is needed to get on and get by varying degrees of sorrow, and that sometimes it’s best, almost cathartic, to go about it alone.