The Greener Pasture

A release he referred to as my dystopian farm/phone-themed album, The Greener Pasture is the third full-length from Indiana singer/songwriter Peter Oren. It follows an equally socially conscious second album, Anthropocene. While that record was more concerned with climate change, The Greener Pasture considers our increased reliance on smartphones as well as certain destructive trends in farming, environmentalism, and larger politics. In keeping with the albums phone-related themes of isolation, Oren decamped to a cabin in the woods outside of Nashville to record it. The resulting tracks do include the participation of several long-distance collaborators as well as friends and local musicians who stopped by, including Mark Edlin, who plays drums on the record. Wide-ranging stylistically while remaining under the broad umbrella of indie folk, it navigates lively folk-rock and country-rock, rustic acoustic balladry, and even dramatic psychedelic folk (such as the ominous Free). In another turn, the title track is part testimony told in rap-like rhymes including I know the law, I wrote it to a tee/Im on the ALEC/I fund a PAC/I make ties/To get mine/From whatever candidate leads/Im playing for keeps. Those lines are delivered by double-tracked vocals, with other hip-hop-inspired components, including a repeated electric guitar riff and elemental drums. Elsewhere, the sardonic Fun Yet takes on phone addiction with a jaunty country-rock, while Ones and Ohs is a wistful, sparer, folk-style guitar tune with strings and light electric guitar (I should treat my phone more like a landline and only pick it up when it rings). To close, the haunting Loading Page surprises with distortion and echo effects. Throughout, Oren sells his consistently smart, crafted messages with a resonant voice and presence that command attention -- like a quality folkie should. ~ Marcy Donelson