
Album Review - Orenda Fink, 'Blue Dream'
Orenda Fink
Blue Dream
Saddle Creek
There are plenty of meditative tomes on death and the afterlife. Mortality is undeniably universal, and often artists worry about their legacies. Humans, in their passing, can continue to offer love, guidance and support to those that cared for them… but what about beloved pets? Do our four-legged friends get a cozy place in the hereafter where we can one day reunite and play fetch with the stars?
That’s the query songstress Orenda Fink of Azure Ray faces in her latest solo album, Blue Dream. The story goes that her canine companion of 16 years, Wilson, died and left the musician absolutely lost. Desperation and solemnity ooze into every pore of Blue Dream, but it’s not an ugly collection. It’s more of a reverence or a séance for Wilson, in which Fink promises to remember her pup always, no matter what it takes.
Things get heavy from the get-go, with the Tarot-related tale “Ace of Cups.” Over a reserved beat, the alto croons to the departed, while ambient embellishments pad the track. As the album progresses, so, too, does her acceptance of death. “This Is a Part of Something Greater” is a whisper to the universe, an exhale as a gift. “Your broken Jesus is in pieces,” she sings, suggesting that conventional understanding of going to God when one dies might not be the answer she needs. These songs swear on the souls of our animal kin. They’d be ideal to license to the ASPCA.
The structure of Blue Dream is gauzy, evanescent. Fink never emotes above an indoor voice— maybe a misfire for a late-summer release. Its mourning is autumnal, and the artist is crystalline as a leafy lake. The dream is anchored with acoustic guitars, ghostly noises and a heavenly dose of reverb. We’re sure someone up there likes Orenda, and it’s not just Wilson.
More from Melissa Bobbitt (See All)
Occur Goes Global - The Music of Colombia
Melissa Bobbitt 0“Colombia is magical realism,” claims the tourism website of the South American country. Referring to the enchanted literature of Gabriel García Márquez, the slogan suggests a land beyond the peripheral. One might equate Colombia with...
Apr 11, 2016Album Review - Spoon, 'They Want My Soul'
Melissa Bobbitt 0SpoonThey Want My SoulLoma Vista You can’t blame a man for being consistent. Or consistent in his inconsistencies. That’s Britt Daniel all over. The 43-year-old Spoon front man has remained a collected, cool cat since his...
Aug 4, 2014Comments
Recent posts
Subscribe!
Receive updates on what's going on in live entertainment, events, and music.