Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers released “Piano Piano” on Jan. 22, his first full-length album. Shimmering, wandering and entirely instrumental, the album showcases the genius behind The Lumineers’ drummer, writer and piano professional. Fraites releases emotion in the calming album everyone needed, adding a hopeful note to the beginning of 2021. 

BEGINNING NOTES 

In an interview with NPR, Fraites explained the meaning behind the title of the album.“Piano Piano” is musical terminology for slowly or step by step. This idea takes a fuller, tongue-in-cheek meaning when he explained that he had to record this album in short, two-hour bursts while his son was asleep in his family’s home in Colorado. 

“After making three full-length LP albums with The Lumineers, I’ve really fallen in love with sort of the full LP experience, you know?” Fraites continued. “And I think for me, that entails going to a place and recording and really being able to dig in to just, you know, thinking about the music and what the album needs.”

It was this process of making the album, step by step, during a difficult year, that allowed it to be so heart-wrenchingly vivid and tranquil, a perfect mix between sadness and peace. 

SOUND AND COLOR

Though the album is titled “Piano Piano,” Fraites also includes acoustic guitar, violin, strings and synthesized chords that unites and provides interest throughout. Beginning with “Departure,” the album is firstly introspective and raw, as he allows the ambient noise of piano pedals and static to authenticate the listener’s experience. 

“An Air That Kills” is more heavily produced. It begins with piano, then swells to dazzling heights in the middle. Sectioned and punctuated nicely, the journey continues on to incorporate pleasing staccato and drops into a simple, repeated melody that floats throughout the song. 

“Dreams,” “Pyromaniac” and “Chilly” are the tracks guaranteed to drop cortisol levels and provide a background to self-exploration. Fraites communicates contentment without words, offering a brief break from the chaos of the outside world. 

Though this album fails to depart from the norm, Fraites succeeds in continuing a career of raw talent, obvious skill and passion for classical music, incorporating it into the mainstream with an authenticity that goes unmatched.