‘All the Little Lights’ Leads to Artistic Contemplation

image

Let me say up front, I am not the world’s biggest music buff. I don’t have an all time favorite sound. I do have preferences like bluegrass pop (i.e. Mumford & Sons), indie-rock (i.e. The Shins), or anything acoustic. But basically I like what I like. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Admitting this, when I hear something that appeals to me, it transports me to a place of amalgamation. What do I mean by that? I hear a song, and I wonder how can that apply to a script, to a scene, to a montage? Is this a song that I want to emphasize my actions? Is it a defining moment soundtrack?  That’s my connection to music. If it can make me envision a scene, I have to own that song, play it 12,000 times, and make those around me hear it. I’ve recently found that in Passenger.

Passenger is a one-man band from England that has made waves across the Atlantic, but hasn’t found an audience in the states. I discovered Passenger just recently while listening to Lost & Found, late night radio program that dishes out gems that are rarely heard on the radio waves that is an indie-filmmaker’s mecca of music.

Originally, Passenger, was a 5-person band founded by songwriter Mike Rosenberg and his friend Andrew Phillips. As the larger group they only produced one album (written by Rosenberg and Phillips) but they broke up in 2009 as the group didn’t like the way that Rosenberg was “…a bit of a tit for singing in a ridiculous mock foreign accent”

After the split, Rosenberg kept the name Passenger and came out with his solo career in 2009. Currently Passenger is the type of indie-band that most scoff at and claim are a dime a dozen. Heavy with acoustic guitar and subtle drums, at first listen you can find yourself thinking that it’s a recycled sound that’s played on mainstream radio all the time. You could make that claim, but you would be wrong.

Passenger sounds like bluegrass mixed with Simon & Garfunkel with a splash of Snow Patrol, to give you an idea.

In the 2012 album, All the Little Lights, the emphatic use of violins in the opening track “Things that Stop You Dreaming” present an upbeat anthem about pursuing dreams in one’s life. However the track to look out for is,Let Her Go”, a song about losing the one you love, something that we can all relate to. Now you are still wondering, “Dave what makes that so special that we should go to iTunes now and buy it”.

Rosenberg’s “fake” accent helps accentuate the lyrics, by providing a realness that one can relate to. Instead of living in vibrato land and trying to make everything rhyme in an ABAB way, we get simplistic lyrics that hold weight.

All the Little Lights is his third produced album, but first to get some real play. It’s worth a listen. If you are a filmmaker, and telling the tale of young love, or if you wish remake The Graduate, this artist should be

this artist should be on your top five list.  I know the next time I make a film about requited love this CD will be the anthem for my hero.

Until next time…..

image

%d bloggers like this: