After a hectic and exciting week, it’s a good feeling to sit down at my desk and write about independent music again. It is not by accident that Everyone’s Singing by Jared Foldy is the subject of this post: his gentle folk-pop is a calming breath of fresh air.
The 25-minute Everyone’s Singing is imbued with a grace that moves it beyond its peers. The tunes don’t jar or grate in any area; they ease into my mind. This doesn’t mean the tunes are bland or “easy-listening” (worst genre name ever?); instead, they are so effectively crafted that it seems as if they’ve always been with me. The first listen didn’t feel like an inaugural. But it didn’t feel like Foldy was ripping off anyone, either—the album invokes pleasantly remembered nostalgia without camping out there. This is a rare feat.
Opener “Sleeping in the Snow” unites handclaps, harmonica and harmonies on top of a perky acoustic guitar and keyboard framework. Foldy’s gentle but firm voice caps the sound: as the songwriting goes in comfortable warmth, so goes his voice. “I Found Out” lends some minor-key gravitas to the proceedings and allows for the sweeping, beautiful sad song. Closer “The Fire Started Without You” is Bon Iver-esque in its spacious, multi-tracked beauty, while the title song adopts that same musical environment and appends some of Foldy’s most memorable vocal melodies.
Everyone’s Singing is a beautiful, refreshing album of folk-pop that employs Bon Iver-style atmospherics without being a slave to them. This songwriting aesthetic, paired with Foldy’s beautiful voice, creates a wonderful set of tunes (and an excellent listening experience).