[rating=7.00]
It is easy to appreciate the beauty of a record like Let’s Be Still. It has a generally even pace to it with some perfectly placed rousing moments, the songs are crafted meticulously with regard to structure, sing-ability and theme, and the vocals are top-notch. In short, Let’s Be Still is everything a solid folk-meets-rock-meets-pop record should be.
Let’s Be Still is a perfect title for this record even if it is not an overly quiet record itself, because at its core is a message of encouraging others to stop and smell the proverbial roses. The swelling piano rock of “Another Story” uses lines like “Tell you one thing/Ain’t gonna change much/The sun still rises/Even with the pain,” to talk about how the world stops for no one regardless of what they are going through and on the soothing soft rock title track the band sings about life going by too quickly and how important it is for everyone to slow down and enjoy things. The acoustic ditty “The Days Are Numbered” focuses on loving and being loved so you can live fully in each moment, and “10,000 Weight in Gold” laments the breaking up of a family and how often we make the mistake of only seeing the value of something after we’ve lost it.
But the album isn’t completely weighty and serious. “Springtime” is a gorgeous, synth-laden interlude aided by Charity Rose Thielen’s echoing vocals all but ushering in the start of springtime, and the jangly pop rock of “Summertime” will be a great play once the doldrums of winter set in. And “Josh McBride” is a swelling, romantic folk track that gives the album greater depth.
In spite of the general tone of the record sounding a bit too similar at times, Let’s Be Still succeeds in presenting its theme and sonic choice with remarkable clarity. Chances are good that if you already like The Head and the Heart you won’t get tired of the “no day but today” refrain that underpins a lot of the album’s material, though casual listeners might get a little antsy by the end. Having said that, such a complaint is minor at best.
