(2017) Peter Oren - Anthropocene
Review:
With a title referring to an unofficial geologic epoch defined by human impact, Anthropocene is the Western Vinyl debut of Indiana native Peter Oren. Like his 2016 self-released Living in Light, it features an electric guitar-bolstered acoustic palette that invites elements of country, blues, folk, and rock into Oren’s gritty yet graceful singer/ songwriter fare. Here, though, a few additional instruments like pedal steel and Wurlitzer are among those covered by a backing band put together by Wilco‘s Ken Coomer, who also served as drummer and producer on the album.
It’s a predictably weighty, or at least well-considered collection of songs, with lyrics like the closer’s “Welcome to this record/Goodbye to this world/May a new one soon be unfurled.”
All the while, though, listeners are also treated to folk-minded tunefulness and elegant arrangements, such as on the elegiac “Canary in a Coal Mine.” Its moseying tempo, floaty pedal steel, and almost contrapuntal acoustic guitar accompany Oren’s typically calm, resonant delivery. The bluesier “Throw Down” puts a dirty guitar tone high in the mix, while “New Gardens” heads into more rustic territory with guitar picking and fiddle.
Throughout, Oren’s vocal timbre has a natural tell-it-like-it-is authenticity that lends itself to the socially and environmentally conscious topics among the track list, including a title track that makes reference to pipelines and the value of bees. It’s a solid label debut that finds its own footing apart from the Wilco connection.
Rating
Tracklist:
01 - Burden of Proof.flac
02 - Anthropocene.flac
03 - Falling Water.flac
04 - Chain of Command.flac
05 - Throw Down.flac
06 - Canary in a Coal Mine.flac
07 - New Gardens.flac
08 - Pictures From Spain.flac
09 - River and Stone.flac
10 - Welcome , Goodbye.flac
Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: Indie-Folk
Media Report:
Source : CD
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : ~624-839 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
