(2022) Ivy Ryann - A Nonaggressive Extreme Violation of Boundaries
Review:
Hailing from a fundamental Christian background in rural Virginia and with a history of teenage depression from which writing and playing music formed a means of escape, Ivy Ryann’s songs on A Nonaggressive Extreme Violation of Boundaries draw on her own experiences of religion, family, mental illness and survival. “I’m just at the mercy/ Of a relentless mind/And it’s never once put me first”, she sings on the melancholic strummed guitar and piano opening track, ‘The Losing’, with its allusions to suicide (“It’s every time/I didn’t wear a seatbelt/And secretly hoped for the worst”) and talk of preconceptions (“Whether I like it or not/I am the villain/In every story you’ve got/It’s nothing I’ve done/And I can’t be defended/Against your mind that’s already made up”) and barriers (“What’s it gonna take to get this wall on the floor?”) as it slowly builds, the guitar resonating and her voice anguished. That feeling of being crushed extends to The Weight, bluesy moan where the lines “She was made to conquer city take their gold /To break family line to break its own mold” is followed by “But the weight of the world/The weight of knowing” that leaves the outcome unstated but clear, and although there’s an upbeat note in the second verse (“You considered all the truth and still you chose joy/The earth gone up in flames and still you rejoiced/Oh you traveled over sea and crossed border too/And the things that you beheld you brought it back with you”) it still ends wondering “It is a dead man that gets all that he asks?” She revisits the song towards the end of the album, this time as an orchestral version with Jake Clayton on violin, viola and cello, the result no less mournful. Another slow march rhythm coloured by Matthew Clickenbeard’s keening electric guitar, the shoegaze-like folk of The Show speaks of “The kind of fear that keeps you at the door” and of release (“don’t be ashamed you’ve held your head high/So now take my hand and look me in the eye”), the mood sustained, with the addition of piano and trombone, for the slowly gathering Eternity with its imagery of exclusion (“All the tears from my eyes that you never did see/And the look in yours as you turned them blind to me”) and being left unfulfilled (“I could wait through the spring/Oh I would wait for an eternity/Oh I’ll always be waiting/Waiting for something”). Anchored by a hollow drum beat, her slowcore Americana hits another piercingly emotional note with the intoxicating drone of Take It All Back which wrestles with feelings of regret (“I never knew how much this scared you/And the look in your eyes has me just as scared too”) and being unable to commit (“I can’t love you like you want me to/But I’ll try”), those conflicting emotions of wanting to give and holding back again underpinning the accordion-tinged slow ache of Driveway Prayers (“Afraid to say I’ve grown attached to you/There’s a fear in the words I love you and meaning it too”) and of the relief and catharsis in finding someone who accepts them for who they are (“My passenger side never more full of understanding grace/Oh the things that would have scared anyone else away/Those driveway prayers became my favorite thing you’d ever say”). Initially sustaining that stripped back, lo-fi ambience with minimal guitar and tremulously intimate vocals before opening up into a fuller band sound as the drums kick in and her voice soars on wings of passion, The Best I Can was written during a period of steep mental health decline, highlighting the need to get away (“I don’t know when I’ll be home/Seems I left ages ago/I just need a little more time”), the state of mind gradually transitioning from self-hatred to self-compassion, the lyric fuelled by how all you can do is your best, but that best is subject to constant change in the line “I can’t do everything/I can’t be everything” and the repeated refrain “I am trying the best I can”. The album comes to a close with, first, a wonderful, slow, piano-based ballad take on Johnny Cash’s I Walk The Line that fits perfectly into its emotional tapestry, finally ending with the piano and singing bowl instrumental, In Wanting, a peaceful, soothing coda to the turbulence that has preceded it and the hope of calmer waters ahead. Ivy Ryann’s biography notes that she wants her music to offer a sanctuary with no judgement, a safe space for those beset with their own mental health issues, as a solidarity and community through song. On A Nonaggressive Extreme Violation of Boundaries, she opens that door; step inside.
Track List:
01 – The Losing
02 – The Weight (Rock Version)
03 – The Show
04 – Eternity
05 – Take It All Back
06 – Driveway Prayers
07 – The Best I Can
08 – Walk the Line (feat. Nicole Tester)
09 – The Weight (Orchestral Version)
10 – In Wanting
Media Report:
Genre: folk-rock, indie-rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
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