The Singer and The Songwriter – Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future
Oakland, CA probably isn’t the first city that comes to mind when you think “modern folk,” but The Singer and The Songwriter (TSTS) seem to be the type of act to eschew categorization. This award-winning, queer, mixed-race duo, composed of singer Rachel Garcia and Thu Tran, specialize in songs inspired by “grief, late-stage capitalism, and their enduring 18-year friendship.” Their latest offering is the 12-song Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future; the title of which was inspired by an abandoned storefront in McDermott, NV. This album often feels desperate in a hopeful way, but also feels like home, cataloguing loss, love, dreams, hope, and everything in between.
The album opens with “Dreams,” and immediately we’re introduced to the backbone of TSTS’s sound. Make no mistake, this is barebones folk at its finest – raw, gentle, and heartfelt. There is no distortion to hide behind, no wall of sound to disguise any mistakes, and no bandmates to cover up your missed notes. “Dreams” is an instrumental tune – Tran’s picking here is nimble and dynamic, rising and falling in tempo and intensity throughout the course of the song. While you listen, the squeal of fingers slide across fresh acoustic guitar strings. It’s a visceral, if unintentional addition, and adds to the overall feel of two musicians in a room performing an intimate song together.
“Drowsy Driver” introduces Rachel Garcia’s soulful vocals alongside a shuffling shaker. The minimal percussion here would normally be a very subtle nuance, but its chicka-chicka rhythm adds to the song’s lyrical imagery:
“Long steel snake, whistling train
Lilac field where someone must have spilled paint
Or is the hill on fire? Wildflower flame”
Some album highlights to consider – first, “Sound & Light” takes a more alt-country approach. A sighing fiddle compliments the rat-a-tat of a snare while a bass plods in the background, giving just an extra bit of gravitas. Though this particular song was written almost a decade ago, it fits perfectly among the rest of these songs, a testament to TSTS’s continuity and consistency. “Over Easy,” another highlight, is a stripped-down waltz that catalogs a memory of a simple morning spent in the kitchen – surprisingly poignant poetry delivered perfectly by Garcia paints it in a perfect light. There’s also “You Take Such Good Care of Me” with it’s acoustic/electric hybrid plucking. The weight of Garcia’s powerful presence is emphasized by a well-executed vocal doubling.
At 12 songs, Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future is a work of art that is best experienced in the album format. There’s a lot to take it, but this was made to be listened to all at once, front-to-back. It’s about 90 degrees in Buffalo during the dog days of summer right now, but I’ll be returning to this album when the snow starts to fall. I think it will be the perfect compliment to a crackling fireplace and a London fog.
Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future is out as of July 19th, 2024. Check out the unassuming video for “You Take Such Good Care of Me” via YouTube below, or, find all the ways to support the band via this helpful Linktree link..
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna