“Intimidated By Silence”
from the album The Roots, the Leaves
2010
iTunes
With the digital age well under way, electronica has found its niche in the world of musical culture and has won most of our hearts. Vast majorities of albums released now have electronic elements, such as processed sounds, programmed beats, and electronic backgrounds that make the songs that we hear just a little more palatable than they would be otherwise. When it comes to records like The Roots, the Leaves by Portland, OR-based Cars & Trains, the addition of electronic elements is not only required but expected, and pairs itself perfectly with the rambling lyrics and instrumental accompaniment.
Solo artist Tom Filepp is a multi-instrumentalist who mixes traditional elements such as glockenspiel, banjo, acoustic guitar with electronic elements such as synth, some mild feedback, and a great deal of preprogrammed thunderous drum beats. This yields a delightfully melancholy mix of organic and inorganic sounds that are perfectly morose and straightforward. With folk vibes, these urban lullabies provide dark landscapes for the almost brooding handpicked lyrics that are precise and exact, and paired together, make one heck of an album.
The ten-track album is a perfect winter release, reminiscent of rainy Pacific Northwest mornings, complete with the subtle reminders of our own mortality and the effect we will have, or absence thereof, on our planet during our short stay here. Filepp does focus on our eventual expiration, but also touches base with our humanity, our mortality, the very essence of being alive, mixed with a carefully orchestrated sense of belonging to something bigger than us, even if we are nothing. Also, a track about how a desk job can lead to our eventual demise- something all of us with a typical day job can relate to (see “Drop Ceilings and Day Planners”), means there is a little something for everyone on The Roots, the Leaves. Favorite tracks include “Intimidated By Silence,” “Dead Telephone,” and “Asleep on a Train.”