Farchild – Chivalry Has Died
With colours pole ragged, we keel in the mainstream of prevalent tune. This is a most industrious and winding course with abundant shoal of cookie cutter approach and quicksilver career reefs. Many crumble and find bottom in the oppressive tides of time and obscurity.
We hit the shore, virtual market first, in search of gem and nourishment. Catching gleam with one interested eye, which has survived many battles of artistic plunder, I find disk of pure light. Blowing off grains of time, I find a slight patina but nothing of old hat. This production is not latest of late but still very vital. Reading liner notes from back to front is a discipline I can not turn from. The deciphering of ancient script has wrought, for my muscle memory, formidable ability to both see whole picture and move accordingly. My conduit to this magical sound, fortunately presents in proper order. Disk is quickly manipulated, by remote, and the pleasure spin begins.
Farchild is a U.S. Seattle-based indie artist of great measure. Her music, to me, is poetry served with air of enormous eclectic value. This mixture of Rock, pop, ambient, industrial, Gothic and so many other genres becomes intrinsic within a very short span.
Samplings are blended with superior voice and delineations of string and keyboard alike. Linear and easily followed story telling, in this debut offering from writer, singer, instrumentalist and soul producer Jane Collymore, for some part is not her. Cryptic lyrics, born of grace and introspection, are woven into this collaged yet cohesive piece. Many different aspects carry melody, beat and rhythm to the point of experimentation. Track successions prove excellent and most are filled with dark incantations of lower register and plaintive chant. Sounds you won’t find in many of today’s trough filling farina are used as counterpoint and undertow with fine mix. The paradoxical soundstage of aphotic theme supporting Farchild’s beautifully interjected melodious cry, of vivid pallet, is a great draw for me.
A more traditional approach to song structure and vocal delivery however, is held within the seventh track entitled ‘Natural Solitude’. Here emotions float and climb, with sauntering notes of amber and silk, while holding great direction. Farchild’s show of wonderful melody, emotional voice and skilled quill culminate into a sharply pointed treble hook with barb.
As I finally read backward to the front cover’s brilliance, I am struck by the declaration “Chivalry Has Died.” I feel the lady doth protest too much but a good argument is posed, none the less, with ‘Ey, Papi.’ This dark and whimsical yet poignant song is brought to soap box, with formidable opinions on misogyny and the demand for respect, which more should probably be seeking.
Digital life has opened many doors for independent artists, who otherwise would have found enormous financial walls in times past. Some may be found reaching for tone controls (obsessed pseudo audiophiles) while listening to this production but, considering it a first formal entry, my hat is off.
Six full tracks, with a nifty intro, finalized by one quirky little instrumental named ‘Peter Piper’ equals eight in all. Attention grabbing songs, which retain melody and focus while turning up the Bunsen burner, are here to fulfill bounty’s promise in mold smashing array. As I told my crew, with ship ashore and treasures found, “Fill your boots…we’re outward bound!”