The One AM Radio - This Too Will Pass
it's one thing to write an album that cuts really deeply into your own psyche and come out with a reeling portrait of yourself. i think it's quite another, however, to come out with one that transcends your own private experiences -- and make that portrait shudderingly universal. this is the feat of the one AM radio, made up primarily of Hrishikesh Hirway from Peabody, Massachusetts (you have no idea how close to my hometown that is).

his accomplishment runs in the form of intricately mixed sounds, a washing and tinkering blend of electronic and organic elements which hold together delicately and yet naturally. i can't help but be impressed by this album on a purely compositional level. violin, cello, upright bass, trumpet -- all hold the hands of a soft voice and sensitive lyrics to bring in a true blend of old and new, of fresh and traditional "indie," of slow but infinitely intriguing. there are moments in almost every song when i look up and say, "wow." something i never thought of. something painstakingly creative. something that just saves me from losing my attention. you can get hopelessly lost in this stuff. it's like nothing i've ever quite heard before, or at least nothing as successful.

two years in the making, This Too Shall Pass bitterly, humorously, submissively holds out its open palms and displays its raw emotion, the scary stuff that makes people people. every note seems to eerily cling to that aspect of human characteristic we're not always willing to give away -- our most hidden attributes, the paths least traveled by our own brains. this is all the great submerged stuff you let flow when you plop on your bed with headphones after One Of Those Days. The One AM Radio is right there.

::::it never quite leaves you.
The One AM Radio - In The Time We've Got
The One AM Radio - Cast Away - the end of this song is absolutely chills-worthy, gorgeous. the whole thing.
look them up on the hype machine, as well.  shan  7:43 AM  |  view comments (0)