There’s something delightfully zen about listening to a minimalist album. The reduction of a musical form down to its bare basics provides a sound that entertains yet relaxes the listener. Recording under the name Careful, Eric Lindley is a proponent of such a musical approach, and one of the new breed of “bedroom” indie recording artists. Lindley’s sophomore full-length album Oh, Light was recorded and mixed over the course of a month in a New York closet, and is a enjoyable album to chill out to.
Lindley’s background is quite impressive and varied. He played in punk bands in high school before becoming interested in classical music theory and the consistent way people react emotionally to particular musical stimuli. He gained degrees at Dartmouth in Electro-Acoustic Music, Music Composition, and Physics, then moved to study music and cognition under minimalist pioneer James Tenney at Cal Arts. He eventually broadened his scope to more Fluxus-inspired participatory work in biofeedback installation and performance. With a background like this, it’s hardly surprising that the presser for the release of Oh, Light requires a thesaurus to get through e.g. “…complex polyrhythms, asymmetric meters, strange harmonic pallindromes, and sections of 4-part contrapuntal writing.”
The complexity of this terminology creates a startling juxtaposition against the simplicity of Lindley’s music. At face value, the music is simple and almost folk-like. The playing of the acoustic guitars is restrained and muted, as if he was recording late at night and didn’t want to disturb the neighbours. His light voice delivers the mildly-abstract lyrics in a relaxed, confident manner, comfortably layered across the top of the music. The resulting effect is a pleasantly relaxing album in the vein of José González or Donovan (specifically his Sutras album).
Although Lindley’s playing of his instruments is masterful, and his vocals well-delivered, there does seem to be some element missing. With his background, it is possible that Lindley could be putting too much thinking into his music and striving for absolute perfection; perhaps a reflection on his performing name, Careful. Whatever the case may be, the music feels like it lacks some soul. This may be common across a number of minimalist artists, but there are other artists like Iron & Wine or Sharon Van Etten whose music could be construed as minimalist, yet ooze soul with every note. Lindley has clear technical talent and puts together a good song, but the feeling of every aspect being carefully calculated may be detracting for some listeners.
At the end of the day, Oh, Light is an excellent album. While one could argue that the delivery feels rote and mildly lacking in soul, one could also argue the same of a classical concert violinist, and their technical delivery is lauded. If the listener relaxes and settles into just enjoying the music for the high quality of musicianship that it is, they will not be disappointed. There is simplicity, there is beauty, and it pays not to think anything more past that.
Samples of the songs can be found at the Careful site: http://songs.carefulmusic.com
