A Wave Of Golden Things

In the years since the groups self-titled debut and 2012 follow-up, Moment, Tall Tall Trees has operated as the solo indie folk project of singer and songwriter Mike Savino, an upright bassist by formal study who switched his focus to banjo around the time of the bands inception. While remaining anchored to bluegrass and folk as well as singer/songwriter influences, releases like The Seasonal E.P. (2014) and Freedays (2017) saw him delve deeper into psychedelic territory with help from his increasingly tripped-out, customized electric banjo, known affectionately to followers as his banjotron. On his second solo outing for Joyful Noise, Savino doesnt so much switch gears as downshift into something less trippy but still rich in texture. Titled A Wave of Golden Things, the album was recorded on a farm near his base of Asheville, North Carolina with drummer Micah Thomas and a handful of guests. One of those guests, Michael Kammers, lends playful saxophone to the merry Happy Birthday in Jail, a track that also features hand drums, harmonized backing chorus, and Savinos typically lively arrangements of acoustic banjo and bass, its sun-streaked rhythms often reminiscent of Paul Simons Graceland. Most of the album carries that songs melodically sweet, upbeat tone, even when lyrics are more uncertain. Ask Me Again repeats Whys it gotta be so hard? alongside animated fingerpicking and wistful pedal steel. Elsewhere, ghostly backing vocals and effects accompany portions of banjo-and-bass-led Expectations, a song that emphasizes gratitude. A brief, mostly feel-good eight-track set, A Wave of Golden Things does close on a trudging title track written in 2012 in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Psychedelic touches like atmospheric keys, tape delay, and stormy effects are ultimately overcome by the singers warm voice and message, which points toward a way through. Despite some tweaks in approach, A Wave of Golden Things sounds like the return of an old friend, one who invites listeners to pull up a chair and find solace in the company. ~ Marcy Donelson