"A flask of light from the world
before we drank it all
before we drank it all
and smashed the bottle on the rocks"
Canadian Alternative Folk artist Avi C. Engel continues their one continuous song that will end when [they] die. The result is an immersive new album, available digitally and as different CD editions via Fenny Compton.
AVI C. ENGEL - FC8 - Mote (2025)
While nothing I've heard from Engel, who I admittedly follow a bit on/off with varying attention, has ever been bad in my ears, their music doesn't always find a hundred percent perfect balance to keep my interest through a whole album.
The reason for that lies in the risky basic formula of the music. Almost every song is slow and sparsely orchestrated. The vocals are always soft, delivering poetic images from behind an introverted veil of melancholia. The artist won't suddenly wow you with flashy dramatic turning points, a smash hit or huge hooks. No, in a tradition once again upheld by "FC8 - Mote" the singer/songwriter's albums rather appear as one continuous flow of emotional contemplation.
That means it's all about subtle things, about the small accentuations, which have great impact. Where is the acoustic guitar aided by minimalist percussion? When are the lead vocals accomponied by harmonies? When does the intimate inconspicuous production open up into sounding just that critical part bigger? When are guest musicians brought into the mix, adding touches of melodica, clarinet, additional guitar?
The eight tracks on this album find the right answers to these questions. While they are all maintaining a common mood and timbre on the surface, there is just the right amount of careful change within textures and arrangements in the deep to bring that certain tension which keeps you attentive.
There's always a notion of some unspoken truth that might come to light at any moment, something expressed through music where thoughts and words alone fail. It's not right before your eyes to decipher yet... but somehow it feels close. However it doesn't actually matter if it's revealed to you or not. Avi C. Engel's Experimental not-quiet-Americana sound dwells in a dreamy state on the edge of epiphany. It's all about slowly and steadily experiencing that state - and ultimately finding peace within it, without knowing all the answers beyond the horizon.
The reason for that lies in the risky basic formula of the music. Almost every song is slow and sparsely orchestrated. The vocals are always soft, delivering poetic images from behind an introverted veil of melancholia. The artist won't suddenly wow you with flashy dramatic turning points, a smash hit or huge hooks. No, in a tradition once again upheld by "FC8 - Mote" the singer/songwriter's albums rather appear as one continuous flow of emotional contemplation.
That means it's all about subtle things, about the small accentuations, which have great impact. Where is the acoustic guitar aided by minimalist percussion? When are the lead vocals accomponied by harmonies? When does the intimate inconspicuous production open up into sounding just that critical part bigger? When are guest musicians brought into the mix, adding touches of melodica, clarinet, additional guitar?
The eight tracks on this album find the right answers to these questions. While they are all maintaining a common mood and timbre on the surface, there is just the right amount of careful change within textures and arrangements in the deep to bring that certain tension which keeps you attentive.
There's always a notion of some unspoken truth that might come to light at any moment, something expressed through music where thoughts and words alone fail. It's not right before your eyes to decipher yet... but somehow it feels close. However it doesn't actually matter if it's revealed to you or not. Avi C. Engel's Experimental not-quiet-Americana sound dwells in a dreamy state on the edge of epiphany. It's all about slowly and steadily experiencing that state - and ultimately finding peace within it, without knowing all the answers beyond the horizon.
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