Labels: Damnably
Review by: MH
It’s been more than 10 years since former Karate frontman Geoff Farina has released a solo album. A few of the songs that appeared on “The Boarder’s Door” album that he recorded a couple of years ago with Chris Brokaw reappear here and this album is most similar to that one out of all of Geoff’s output in his career. It  was apparently inspired by his move to the countryside on the riverbanks in Maine and is essentially gentle, acoustic folk music. Apparently he is now teaching music history at university in Chicago and has been attending fiddle contests and local bluegrass festivals. This really shows in the music. The finger-picking style and lyrics of the majority of the songs here give this a traditional feel at times which must have been influenced by those visits. Although the lyrics get a bit darker at times, particularly on “Prelapsarian” which is about a heroin addict, it’s a very gentle listen. Many of the songs tell a story such as “Scotch Snaps” which appears to be an ode to antique musical instruments. It’s a very pleasant listen all round. I will probably listen to this album a lot at night time. I will probably also listen to it if I ever move to a house next to the river.