15 June 2022
Initially, there’s something a little jarring about just how out of period the music of singer/songwriter Lang Owen, who releases their sophomore LP “She’s Our Memory” this Friday, seems. Owen, 62, returned in order to songwriting after a three 10 years hiatus a few years back, plus sounds like someone who could have easily slotted in between a John Simon and a Joni Mitchell at a late 60s coffeehouse open mic. He’s obtained the reedy, clarion tone of voice, the crisp sense associated with melody and the kind of words that often start as speaking character sketches but in some way become poetic reveries. Owen, a reflective and humble type, seems comfortable with this particular characterization. But he’s certainly not inclined to think too much concerning the long gap between their music-making career. After a short period of painting, he came back to songwriting as a a lot more natural way to “tell other’s stories, ” as he describes. He credits his lengthy professional career in helping other people, from social worker in order to managing a language program with regard to immigrants, as well as his long term habit of journaling, a lot more important to the story of their music than his lengthy hiatus from picking up the guitar. “I try mainly these days just to stay in the current, ” Owen said. “I just feel really lucky that I’ve met individuals like Todd (Mathis) and everything the other musicians that he delivered into doing this album. “And it’s clear that Mathis, the erstwhile alt-country frontman of American Gun that has become increasingly more of a manufacturer, multi-instrumentalist and engineer recently in between solo projects, was obviously a bit of a catalyst for Owen’s new record and changing his solo-troubadour presentation. “I realize in some ways, I’m type of anachronistic, if that’s the right phrase, ” Owen said. “But I do wish to be involved with what’s going on in songs, and there is a part of myself that believes that I possess something that’s relevant today. So I think I was purposeful about wanting to try to take action that at least is of on this occasion, and, and it was assisted by working with somebody such as Todd (Mathis). “Before beginning recording in earnest, Owen and Mathis talked a great deal about what the record ought to sound like, and Mathis also requested Owen make a playlist with a variety of songs with all the feel he was choosing. The two bonded over a like of records like Emmylou Harris’s 2000 album “Red Dirt Girl, ” a good example of a late-career Americana designer subtly innovating her audio with warm, atmospheric agreements. “You can really tell which he paid attention to that conversation, individuals songs, ” Owen mentioned. “The soundscape that we began working on at least has all those echoes. “The results of their own efforts are a bit revelatory, giving Owens’ sound new accents and resonances without having ever overwhelming the primary of each song. Mathis deploys everything from chiming, reverb-laden electric guitars and layered backing words to subtle flushes associated with pedal steel and key-boards to lift and swing each tune, creating a lot more space for his artist’s trusty guitar work plus winding storytelling. But for all the sonic refinement, Owen’s music remain the main attraction right here. Loaded with memorable characters — from a somehow-still-playful husband troubled with Alzheimer’s to a heading off editorial cartoonist — the particular album seems preoccupied with individuals grasping to make meaning from the world. This sense is certainly typified in a song such as “Man with a Broom, inch which describes a upon the market janitor still taking comfort in sweeping the street away front of his home. Stocked with empathetic information and balancing present doubt with quiet strength, Owen’s characters feel like fully-realized protagonists. “I see this lp as a collection of songs regarding people dealing with circumstances in your daily course that are disrupting, ” Owen offered. “The songs actually are about people who are running directly into and confronting change or even losing something that’s valuable to them. But I hope exactly what comes through is that individuals often deal with these huge disruptors and weigh within through resilience and some type of faith. “
Arts & Entertainment
June 18. five p. m. to 7 p. m. Curiosity Espresso Bar. 2327 Main Road. facebook. com/curiositycoffeebar. 803-357-2889. 10 dollars. 80.