Calliope Music Rapid Reviews
Ryan Beatty - Calico
California Singer-Songwriter, Ryan Beatty Floats Gracefully in Cozy Pop and Amatory Indie Folk.
For his third studio album, Beatty steps away from uniform RnB and closes in on an intimate folk sound. Diaphanous acoustics sustain cloud-like guitar, piano and bass. Velvety textures hover in reverberated environments, generating silky progressions that guide guitar and keys through gliding melodies. Beatty's voice is especially moving, succulent in its creamy consistency and dominant in its smooth fluctuations.
The intimacy of the instruments is echoed by the poetic content. Topics of heartbreak, personal religion, and LGBTQ love are all explored through pulpy imagery and warm anecdotes. The endearment of sexual encounters and frisky love affairs is colligated with the cold actualities of fleeting relationships. Despite such loss, the track 'White Teeth' reminds the listener that it is all for the better with the line:
"Like white teeth to a red wine stain,
Some left, but the right ones stay,
A good end to a Saturday"
Whilst bitter romantics are elegantly described, there is a general feeling of vagueness that afflicts this 33 minute LP. Often times, Indie progressions stay in a comfortable, but leaden space, taking away a vigor that Beatty's voice is clearly capable of. For example, the song, 'Hunter' begins with a swampy acoustic chord progression, tutored by light piano keys and a grassy refrain. In spite of such a solid foundation, the track largely remains the same, overreaching with its vocal hook until a soft drum pattern comes in near the end.
This sequence of dryness continues on a few of the nine tracks, but does not entirely cease an otherwise lofty body of snug Indie and sultry songwriting.
Best Tracks: Ribbons -- Andromeda -- Bright Red -- White Teeth
6/10
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