BICENTENNIAL BLUE

Bicentennial Blue is the debut album by?Great Father. After taking a break from songwriting?for more than a dozen years to work?full-time as a hospice social worker and found the?label Exit Stencil Recordings, Brandon Stevens?delivers us a meditation on the commonplace?complexities of aging that arise as youth fades?further in the rearview and middle-age?unexpectedly approaches.?Named in homage to a birth year, Bicentennial?Blue is a candid and honest reflection on the?personal shortcomings, readjustments of?expectations and dreams, and the loss of?relationships through disappointment, distance?and death, that one acquires with age. Through?the collaboration with producer/multi-intrumentalist,?Riley McMahon (Spottiswoode & His Enemies), Great Father manages to incorporate the standard indie-folk band instrumentation?into a darker, more atmospheric, and more haunting presentation than typically found in the genre.?Bicentennial Blue has a decidedly overcast aesthetic, wrapped in the warm tones of nostalgia for the '70s a la?Tobias Jesso Jr., and delivered from a perspective of someone who lives with loss close at hand. At times reminiscent?of Mojave 3's dream/country/folk amalgamation; at others, an Elliot Smith / Conor Oberst-like approach to lyrics and?vocalization; and at others, just approaching things straight up like Pink Floyd and letting it breathe.?Limited Edition Vinyl / Digital Suggested Tracks:?1. On The Vine - A song that could easily have been a 70s AM radio number. Similar in tempo and content to John Lennon's Jealous?Guy, this song surveys one's repeated failures in a relationship that eventually brings about demise.?3. Grey Gull - A Neil Young and Crazy Horse meets Pink Floyd style song that unabashedly disputes the notion that you need to?only remember the positive when someone dies. A very personal recollection of a childhood friend---this song's mid-tempo builds up?dramatically before finding musical and personal resolution.?7. Nobody Likes A Long Goodbye - The most traditional folk song on the album with primarily guitar and voice---but the inclusion?of the mournful organ accompaniment provides a more modern view. Vocals and guitar lines blend a la' Nick Drake as a goodbye?unfolds.