Okay so I'm kind of beat but I want to take a minute to shout out this record that I've been listening to you cuz I think it's really stellar. It's a newish record out on Count Your Lucky Stars, a short EP from acoustic orator and performer Warren Franklin, this time with a full band that includes Brandon Lutmer and Stewart Oakes- both of whom really help Warren to fill out the potential of his style.
Second April, as the EP is called, sees Warren endeavoring in a poppier orientation that really suits him. Now when an artist who started out as a solo acoustic act takes on a full band, the tendency is for them to go in a harder, more electric direction with their sound, but this is not the case for
Second April. On this record, Warren does manage to expand his sound impressively, all the while making it sweeter and more layered. He does this while not losing the heart-on-his-sleeve acoustic emo aesthetic that made so many of his past efforts endearing- retaining the warmth of his earlier releases while deepening and widening his sound. While I could still imagine hearing these songs in a garage or a suburban basement, there is now a transportive aspect to his music that is easy to get swept up in. It feels like he is lifting me and everyone else who hears his music up into the funnel of a glittering sandstorm and depositing us into a freshly swept and waxed ballroom, a setting where we can be just as captured by his performance, and just as entranced by a connection with his passion, but where the venue is large enough to contain the aspirations of his sound. Despite the fact that this record feels like a complete and entirely original statement in its own right,
Second April does give me the impression that Warren is working towards something else- something even bigger. For confirmation of this fact, I not only have to look to the gleaming production and the increased confidence that he displays in his performances, but also the new friends he's made, specifically his collaboration with Say Anything's Max Bemis on the lovely opening track "January."
Second April is a great listen, from front to back, and I sincerely hope you check it out. But before I leave you, I need to mention how much I appreciate the tranquility of the cover art. Particularly its thriving indoor garden. A picture like this is something that I aspire to every time I bring home a new plant. Unfortunately, I do not have a green thumb so I am not quite at the level of horticulture displayed in this image just yet. Although, I plan to put this album cover on a vision board and hope that it helps. Send me green vibes if you got 'em folks!
