Songs Of Comfort, Songs I Trust

James Rabbit “George Gershwin” –

1. James Rabbit’s Coloratura makes me wish that this was some shady fly-by-night rar. blog, and that I could just give you the entire album all at once. I’ve been following Tyler Martin’s music with interest for a while now, and have been pleased with his progress as he plugged away, recording a few albums with his friends ever year, each an improvement over the last. But Coloratura…this is a breakthrough. This is the moment where everything suddenly clicks, and he proves himself capable of realizing his often ambitious ideas, and filling out a 51 minute album with consistently catchy, thoughtful, and inventive music.

2. Coloratura is an album mainly concerned with three things, in descending order of thematic prominence: The importance of making connections and the value of friendship; the way music and our environment can enrich our lives and affect our emotional well-being; and the awkwardness of young courtship. My favorite theme is most certainly the first, in part because it’s a topic so rarely written about in a way that isn’t totally trite, but mainly because Martin’s expression of gratitude for the support and inspiration of his friends is so incredibly thoughtful and sincere. There’s quite a bit of insecurity and anxiety in Martin’s words, but he has no interest in dwelling those feelings. Instead, nearly every song he writes is about coming to terms with that stress, and learning how to overcome it and improve himself, and on this record, he does just that with a little help from his friends.

3. From a hand written letter sent by Tyler Martin to me along with Coloratura:

Track five, “George Gershwin,” is dedicated to a dear friend, Vanessa Waring, who always seems to call me as she is walking home from work. She works in San Francisco, so often the “mixed elevations” affect how difficult it is to walk and talk, and also affect the conversations.

4. “George Gershwin” boils down the essence of Coloratura into a single, easily digestible song. Martin experimented with spoken monologues on the Colossuses album earlier this year with varying degrees of success, but he has it figured out now, and has fallen into a nice style that emphasizes his particular brand of wide-eyed enthusiasm with mannerisms lifted from Ira Glass and the Fiery Furnaces. True, it’s often a bit twee and precious, but it’s also incredibly involving and thoroughly integrated into the music. He’s not just talking over instruments — his words are musical, and there’s a constant, playful interaction between his voice and the music. Much of the record is incredibly joyful, but the chorus of “George Gershwin” is particularly effervescent and invigorating. Simply put, my entire life feels better when I hear this song, which is only appropriate given that it is basically about searching for a piece of music that can fit perfectly into your life and become a reliable source of comfort and inspiration.

(Click here to buy Coloratura from James Rabbit.)

Elsewhere: Mike Barthel imagines three Britney Spears videos directed by Richard Kelly that pay homage to Guns N’ Roses’ epic Use Your Illusion trilogy.

Also: Here it is — the end to every argument, until the end of the internet.