In a nutshell, Jeremy Larson is a pioneer of the indie rock DIY singer-songwriter-who-is-also-kinda-Christian movement, landing somewhere between Bryce Avary (aka The Rocket Summer) and Sufjan Stevens (aka SOOF-Yawn Stevens). He definitely boasts much more of an adult sound than The Rocket Summer, but sticks to traditional songwriting styles.
Jeremy Larson truly a one-man band
You won’t find any 30-minute songs or electronic implosions here, but he does play with orchestral string and brass instruments quite often. This is remarkable since he writes and records all the words, instrument parts and vocals on his songs, enlisting only the occasional guest drummer or backing vocalist. He seems to scrape up barely enough money to tour, so it’s rare to see a physical copy of one of his albums, but as it stands, they sure have been gorgeous.
Third release continues solid effort
His self-titled album and fantastic sophomore LP “Salvation Club” were both very well-penned and executed, and consistently pushed the boundaries for how surprising driving technicolor piano-violin anthems can be. What his latest release, “They Reappear,” makes me mostly feel is a desire to return to these albums, but it’s still a solid record, so for new listeners I recommend this one first, because you’ll probably have only better things to look toward.
Larson’s voice is a clean ring, devoid of vibrato or acrobatics. He articulates each word with clarity and has no drawl or scratch imposed onto his delivery so you can easily hear every word if you are paying attention, which most times are spelling out something quite intriguing.
Poetic lyrics combine with beautiful melodies
“Bedside Manner” is a story about the speaker’s thoughts while encountering the devil dying “with no one by his side but me.” He consents at last that “when the moment comes and my breath is gone/ don’t look away/ cause you have not seen/ what it truly means to be alive/ until you’ve seen yourself inside a dead man’s eyes.”
It would seem like dark material except for the fact that it’s all proclaimed triumphantly over a rolling frantic track, backed by the indispensable Mutemath drummer Darren King, who also appears on three other tracks. King’s presence on the album provides it with the occasional “ridiculous drum part song” which can be a great foil to the violin waves and orchestral ebb and flow that Larson weaves.
Album showcases Larson’s talent on piano
Larson’s specialty instrument is the piano on which he all too seldom pulls a mind-blowing riff out of the blue that can resemble anything from a metal rock guitar riff to a 10-string horror film tension chord, which somehow always falling quickly back into whatever beautiful melody it emerged from. The rest of the time, Larson is hammering out a lovely rhythmic environment of piano-rock melody, singing lyrics like “you covered your windows and locked up the door/ cause fictional visitors are hard to ignore/ some would say this is humanity left on it’s own/ a masochist cannibal dining alone” which could easily get overlooked in the bouncing melodies, which is both a shame and a testament to the strength of his hooks.
Thankfully his voice is always high in the mix. With some repeated listens, fans will be rewarded with, in addition to lavish music, a lot to soak in lyrically and thematically. There’s a good amount of those two to three minute musical interlude tracks that are named making you think they are songs, but are really just the directors cut of the song before it. Only here, they serve as welcome breathing room between songs, because this is an album that is meant to be listened to all the way through. The style is cohesive to the point where the album sounds like one single song at times, and therefore it’s relatively easy to get through in one sitting.
Larson represents the American everyman
One of the refreshing aspects of Larson is that he looks, feels and sounds like a sort of everyman, at least in the American middle class. He’s not overly cool, philosophical, edgy, mysterious, esoteric, quirky or any of the other traits rock stars and musicians are supposed to have. He’s a pretty normal guy making exceptional music basically by himself on his own dime. Admittedly this particular album is one of those “growers,” but it shouldn’t take listeners very long to warm up to Larson’s general personality, attitude toward music and often elegant results.
The final track is a light waltz-like prayer written in an archaic style combined with hints of modern vernacular. Although he’s not very well known, Larson seems poised to do this with music. He takes the quality and massive feel of big budget bands and infuses it into his own home recordings. He is definitely an artist worth watching, listening to, and supporting. “They Reappear” can be found on his Bandcamp site, streaming in its entirety and available for just $12.
