LA based Widower is the latest addition to the Mama Bird Recording Company family. With the release of his album Fool Moon yesterday and in the company of musicians like Denver, SaintSeneca, Barna Howard, and Quiet Life, Widower is in a prime position to have a landmark year. Widower is the singer/songwriter moniker which front man Kevin Large has taken on for the last decade. On this album he is also joined by the enviable cast of musicians Brian Wright, Jeff Fielder, Ty Bailie, William Moore, and vocalist Kaylee Cole.
The album is 8 tracks of elegant melancholia born of a break up and through the vehicle of wood, steel, and voice, it is fated to connect to a broad audience. In the single Oh Catherine, My Catherine we get a healthy dose of Kevin Large's cinematic writing and verbally driven song writing which is amplified with the subtle touch of his band mates. This particular track has a real Wes Anderson vibe going on and I completely dig it. It makes me want to see myself walking in slow motion in an extended uncut scene. Later in the album, with the song Thoroughbred, Kevin Large's band is re-orchestrated with the addition of a dobro. I may be a sucker for this instrument in general, but the mournful sounds of the dobro are the perfect addition to the piece to gives the honest lyrics their finishing touch.
Another favorite of mine from this album is the closing track, Almost, Always, All Yours. This mixed up sentiment of a relationship lost cuts right to the core of what this album is all about. It's not answers, it's not solace, it's not comfort, but it is an acceptance of love lost and the hard to navigate feelings of moving on and reflecting on what went wrong. I also enjoy that the band opens up after the first three minutes of the song and kicks into a brief Pink Floydian cadenza ending to not just the song, but moreover, the album. For me, ending Fool Moon with this gesture is a musical display of optimism and conviction after the previous 29 minutes of heart break and woe.
Fool Moon from Widower is a cohesive exploration of the extended process of breaking up. It undergoes all the shades of emotions which accompany this unique experience. Although the themes expressed on Fool Moon may be familiar to listeners, they are written in such a beautifully imaginative and deeply personal manner that we are both connected to our own feelings and memories as well as given a seat at the table while Kevin Large opens up a vein for us to see and hear. Do not miss Fool Moon and do not sleep on Widower this year. Stay connected with the band via Facebook, Mama Bird Recording Co., and finally purchase the album here and enjoy. You dig?