Tristan Israel’s latest album Out Into The Midnight takes Israel’s singer-songwriter flare for expressive vocals and artistic lyrical flourishes and adorns them with special instrumentation. Penny whistle, violin, and quirky keyboards create a special soundscape for this Martha’s Vineyard singer-songwriter to put across his warm regard for life and all of the special folks who people it.
Opening track “Vineyard Reds” blends Israel’s sweet vocal, a penny whistle melody, and a groove built upon many fancy drum fills. Israel leads a band of merry men through this jaunty tune that sports a slight island influence. When the keyboard line replaces the penny whistle in the melodic space it’s like finding another kind of tasty treat in the candy store.
“WMVY Porch Song” is a lilting melodic piece brightened and sweetened by Paul Thurlow’s penny whistle melody and by Nancy Jephcote’s bouncy fiddle line. Amidst that joyful melodic playfulness, Israel’s acoustic guitar strums prettily as his vocal carries this whole thing with an amicable vibe.
“Whitehouse Blues” funks things up a bit with a swaggering groove and with Israel’s rugged, sandpapery crooning. His edgier vocal timbre perfectly matches the bossy groove and a snappy drum smack, a think keyboard line, and a thumping bass line. It makes for a great toe tapping number while making a political point.
With a zippy bluegrass feel, “Eastville Tuck Beach)” finds Israel slapping out a high flying, up tempo dandy. His acoustic guitar notes ripple through this piece as his raspy vocal finesses the lyrics. He contrasts these speedy instruments by gruffly maintaining his vocals at a mid tempo pace. His character rich vocal fits into the racing pace by sounding like a man who is unfazed by the swift passages of time and of life. This is Dylanesque in its whimsical approach to understanding life.
“The Pill Bug Song” ambles along with Israel’s smoother timbre, his voice coating it with a mellow coolness. Thurlow’s snappy electric guitar injects a brittle honey into the soundscape, and the dollops of notes from the rhythm section move this one along with a pleasant neo-hippie vibe.
Within a low key, down temp number, Israel’s ode to his “Father” swells with emotion. One can feel the emotion in Israel’s large, full vocal approach. He pauses to let Thurlow pay out another endearingly sweet guitar line, and it makes a good song even better.
“Charlotte In My Dreams” ambles along like a traveling circus, a lot of moving parts going along for the cruising journey. This sprawling piece feels like home and the inclusion of shiny fiddle, tender backing vocal, and gentle rhythmic slaps are additional creature comforts. Israel sings over that cushion of sound with soulful reflection of a past experience that meant a lot to him, a life event that was reborn into this big song.
Named after an invisible energy field theorized by physicists, “Higgs Bosom Ditty” describes the astrophysical theory then expands it into a metaphor for the bonds that link together all of humanity. Israel’s whimsical traveling vocal moves through this piece with a cool aplomb. He carries us through his imagery and philosophy with a pleasant penny whistle over a peppy percussion pattern. It’s just a fun song to follow along with.
“Traveling Through” is a stomping acoustic dandy. Israel’s mighty strum dominates the song with a nice thick sound. Over a rambunctious groove, Israel drawls out his philosophy with more of that sandpapery timbre that fits this aggressive approach so well. This one is loaded with drama, and Israel and company carry it all well.
Moving at dreamy pace, the acoustic flavored “Purity” circles around a light groove, never ending but rather feeling like something eternally afloat. Israel’s folksy vocal here takes its time letting his message unfurl, hitting the sound and the listener’s sympathies just right.
“Little By Little” moves at a fun, brisk pace. Speedy acoustic guitar has its own charm while Israel emits bits of chorus that keep this lively affair as lively as possible. This would make for a heck of a sing along at Israel’s live shows.
Closing track “Spring Morning” is a pared down ditty, and with light accompaniment Israel shows how much emotion he can put across all by his own self. This introspective piece finds him focusing on his journey through life. His sense of wonder comes through heartily with every question he asks of himself. His seriousness of purpose is balanced well with his warm delivery.
Tristan Israel presents a lot of good singer-songwriter material on this Out Into The Midnight. His insights are precise, warmly expressed, and plentiful. The added touches from keyboards, violin, penny whistle, and many other elements adorn this recording with many special moments and their inclusion keeps things fresh and interesting. Produced and recorded by Paul Thurlow, Israel’s disc offers Thurlow on multiple instruments, Nancy Jephcote on violin, Mike Israel on some drums, and Roy Blumenfeld on other drums. Together, it all adds up to one special singer-songwriter effort.
