S. Carey - Watercress [LP]

There's a cool, clean strum that introduces 'Watercress'. Animmediately noticeable shift in mood from the last time wechecked in with S. Carey. He was heavy-hearted on 2022's'Break Me Open' - crestfallen and reckoning after a big lovelost. And so, 'Watercress' sets us off with the ringing ofhard-won hope. It is in fact only in the clear, shallow watersthat watercress grows. And these are the very places thatSean Carey the human being returns to again and again -to fish, to reflect, and to grow. Seasons have passed overand he's spent time healing in the water, flowing and still.The pieces have been collected and reassembled. Of course,there's always gonna be a wistful quality to S. Carey's music.But here, it's the bright, crisp October morning kind ofwistful.These guitar-forward songs are in many ways an extensionof 2018's beloved 'Hundred Acres.' The guitars are drivingthe bus. The drums are the backbone. And Sean's voice istelling the tale. Seems like a simple recipe but there's morenuance here than highwire act. Recorded at Hive in EauClaire by Zach Hanson and Brian Joseph, there's the usualcast of characters providing instrumentation and co-writeswhen needed, and guest singers Gia Margaret and HannahHebl blending into the fabric beautifully to create a soundthat's familiar to S. Carey, almost nostalgic - but also shinyand new.Sean Carey has been a vital organ of Justin Vernon's BonIver project for over fifteen years. Beginning with 2010's 'AllWe Grow,' his four albums and some epic EPs have all been,in ways both overt and subtle, naturalistic explorations oflandscapes of the heart and of the real world, each craftedwith the patience of a true fisherman and the acumen of afolk-jazz phenom.