Solwater’s inquisitive acoustic melodies and thought-provoking poetry herald in a Balmorhea-like serenity with the emotional heft that comes with the weighted lyrics. A gratifying, soothing, and rewarding listen from top to bottom.
Solwater is Luke Anderson, an American songwriter, and singer, backed by Jared May’s bass, Jakob Pek’s electric guitar, Aea Luz’s backing vocals, and Salif Bamakora’s kora. An all-encompassing assault on the senses, ‘Feel It All the Way’ is an album of acoustic-backed poetry, supported by simplistic melodies and sparse arrangements to deliver immense emotional and soulful weight.
Unapologetically minimalistic, the songs on ‘Feel It All the Way’ are long and repetitive… entrancing, and hypnotic, and the nature of Anderson’s twisting finger-picking patterns gives the songs a numbing feeling that gives the album a potent spiritual depth. Key songs on this lush album include the starting duo. ‘belonging’ and ‘Fears Falling Away’ are both landmark songs introducing the folk sound of Solwater on their debut album. The sparse acoustic arrangement on ‘Belonging’ is more focused on melodic lines and an interplay with the deep bass part than on any conventional chord structure, introducing Luke Andersen as an unconventional player and performer, and ‘Fears Falling Away’ balances this with a gorgeous progression that’s supported by sweet, wailing strings, and a playful melody, and a chorus that sounds like it is pulling the sun back again from below the horizon.
‘courage’ is a display of the full power of the band. It doesn’t rock, or roll, it soothes, comforts, and chills, with Jakob Pek’s electric guitar making a louder stance that is still whisper soft. An expert practice in restraint and soul. ‘sea of Stars’ has a haunting presence from the strings, with the guitar’s descending progression consistent, balanced, and grounding, and ‘Jaguar Calling’ is a thrilling piece of North American flute-led-folk that ends the album on an ethereal note, a nod to the Andersen’s roots embedded deep in folk.
With production done by John Alevizakis, a multiple Grammy-nominee whose work has achieved gold and platinum record status, there is no arguing that ‘Feel It All the way’ sounds stunning, with balanced and populated mixes that make expert use of all the deliberate space in the songs. An inquisitive album whose poetry and sensationalism hit in the least loud of ways. Calculated, soft, but gently thunderous, Solwater’s debut is an exquisite display of talent.