Kept

Simple acoustic songs with a mix of male and female vocals. Lots of fingerpicked guitar and occasional keyboards, along with some indie pop hallmarks. Sounds nice when listened through in full, but individual songs don’t particularly stand out.

RIYL Lydia, Belle & Sebastian, First Aid Kit, James Vincent McMorrow
Favorites: 1, 2, 7, 9, 10
FCC Clean

1. (5:03) *Waves - opens with a gentle, repetitive fingerpicking melody. Gradually builds in more sounds. Multiple voices - sounds like two female voices and one male voice. About two minutes in, builds into a standard indie pop song. Interesting variations with the guitar, dynamics, and vocal styles.
2. (3:31) *Kept - More uplifting love song. The dominant male voice sounds a lot like the vocals of the lead singer in Lydia. Some kind of vocal solo (with very very faint instrumentation) from ~2:20 to 3:00.
3. (3:02) Another November - Simple yet gently chiming fingerpicked guitar. A lot of the guitarwork reminds me of Celtic music. Deep bassline comes in around 0:55. Female vocals are traditionally pretty, sound like Belle & Sebastian.
4. (4:45) Glow - Male vocals similar to James Vincent McMorrow. More fingerpicked guitar and confessional lyrics.
5. (3:15) Wreaths Rakes - Sounds very much like First Aid Kit. Multiple acoustic guitars. Lyrics are mostly ah’s and don’t quite flesh out until the song’s end.
6. (1:50) Still / He Held Us, Covered. - Soft guitar interlude. Reverby. Resonant clapping from halfway until the end.
7. (2:43) *Bright Red - Contains some form of percussion unlike most of the preceding tracks. More folky female vocals. Cool passage around 1:20 with fluttering synths, slide guitar, and stronger vocals.
8. (3:09) Folded Out - Spicy Celtic guitars. Mostly instrumental with occasional vocals buried in effects. Guitar is especially prominent here.
9. (4:13) *For Dan - Getting a strong Lydia vibe here. The track’s melancholy is made restless by the frenetic guitars.
10. (4:56) *Wheel - Ooooooh I like this. Builds in volume and vocals for the first minute and a half. Steady, fast, hazy drumming. Some clapping. Sort of chaotic with all the different styles mixed but still a great closer.