Review Summary: ffo: the natural rhythms of life
The sun is finally starting to show—yet as the malaise of a long, grey winter still has me in its teeth, and as I struggle to shake joy out of old haunts (at least until the New Me powered by vitamin D expels the creature from my system), I find myself being called back to the simple indie folk comfort of
February Songs and its beautiful encapsulation of rebirth. Having been recorded and released in January during the first few weeks of his newborn son's life (to whom these songs are also dedicated), John Patrick Elliott's fourth fully self-produced album feels almost like a eureka snapshot of both the personal and grand cosmic cycles waltzing hand in hand. These themes of parenthood and the Lunar New Year are central to the concept of
February Songs, and they echo throughout the entire record in a way that makes the whole experience feel strikingly cohesive—from the photograph on the album cover, to the lyrics of the first song (
"You are the purest little reason to spring to life when it calls, as February falls like a star in the palm and draws a line through us all") to the very palette of sounds that Elliott employs. Elliott takes a minimal approach to instrumentation, mostly centering his songs around a roulette of piano, finger-plucked acoustic guitars, and frosty synthesizers, but he succeeds in crafting a diverse array of memorable songs from this utilitarian tool belt. You can practically feel the joy radiating from these songs as Elliott paints us these quaint little celebrations of life's small moments—fuzzy socks, coffee steam on the windowsill, first light offering a few drips of ice melt as penance for its absence. "Goldcrest Dawn", despite being fully instrumental, probably best sets the whole sunrise visual in motion with its Winged Victory-esque blend of soft piano and dazzling synths. But as the album progresses into its final act, dawn fades into dusk, and the ritual of merrymaking begins. "Aquarius" portrays a lively gathering of loved ones as Elliott sings of laughing and drinking in candlelit rooms and
"dancing clumsy across the ice". The song then drifts into ambient swells before "Eventide" caps off the night with a thoughtful lullaby to cradle us to sleep.
February Songs is, if nothing else, cozy as all hell. It's an album of simple joys, and when life gets overwhelming, it reminds me to slow down and appreciate the little things. Hopefully it can do that for you too.
