May showers has brought this quirktastic album Spring Peepers from music veteran and renaissance man Steve Hammond. Good quirk is like a beloved kink of mine I am in no way ashamed of. Looks like Hammond might be in the same boat. This album is twisted in that it takes dreamy, surfy, flighty tones and manages to wring them into edgy and in some cases very dark pieces of valid work. It's psychedelic, creepy, cheeky and some solid Americana in there for spice. Hammond was having fun and made sure it was contagious. This is the kind of album you'll want to dissect, so imagine my delight that it is in fact my job this week to do exactly that.
On the music end, there is a very clear tone of nostalgia. In many of these songs I can picture Gidget on the beach. Sometimes it's a more physical reaction - I can feel fringe and ten tons of hairspray on my head. Lots of ‘60s fun to be had here. It's a pretty thick fog that permeates the whole album, but that is not to say this album is not fresh. It's so clear and ripe with all the modern trickery that is available today. The engineering on this album is undeniably fabulous. The mixing I feel is what holds tight the nostalgia while the mastering makes those faded colors pop. It felt like this album was groomed with a fine tooth comb. So many details and hidden gems, there's no listening to this album just one time, just not possible. I had to keep peeling back layers and finding all these extra goodies. Make sure you keep your ears finely tuned when it comes to the lyrics, because they bite, and again, I’m totally into it. If I had to put the music on a scale next to the lyrics, I would say the words win, but by a hair. The words are what give this album its weight and sincerity. I wouldn't call this album a kick back and chill ordeal UNTIL you have really done the work of exploring it. THEN you introduce it to a friend and get the pleasure of watching them discover it for themselves. I love albums that do this - what a great friend activity that is best done in person. When I said Hammond is a music veteran, I don't know that I can properly explain it. He has released over 30 albums, he has toured anywhere you can think and all of this experience is easy to recognize with this album. I love when an artist can pull together a lifetime of experience that is so diverse and manage to make something cohesive and easy to follow. This album felt like a personal celebration, pulling together all of his favorite things and sharing them. Lucky for the listener, I think one of his favorite things is to create well made music.
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