Beachwood Sparks – Across the River of Stars

My favorite band released a new album, after an 11 year hiatus. Not that its members haven’t all been busy – I’ve been sketching a family tree, Peter Frame-style, and its many branches have me rethinking its structure, more like a mycelium system, all interwoven and interconnected and to me, one living organism hosting many fruiting bodies.

The latest fruit, Across the River of Stars, out now on founding band member Brent Rademaker’s Curation Records, is bursting forth with color and vibrancy. Filled with classic Beachwood Sparks sounds, it’s rollicking, sparkling, yet brings freshness and modernism. Lyrics nod to both current events and the foundational influences of the band (“listening to the silver raven… howling at the marquee moon” from “Gentle Samurai”), and the new addition of Jen Cohen Gunst’s bright keys are a revelation. Each member’s individual lyrical proclivities are apparent, and as a whole, their harmonies unify and create that unmistakeable voice of Beachwood Sparks we love so well.

My first thought upon listening is, this album is romantic. Beginning with the opening track, “My Love, My Love,” glorious harmonies give way to reverential praise. With lyrics like “I love you like the stars above,” the vivid imagery is nothing new but perhaps our collective age adds a touch of poignancy. The record is like an old love – it’s not infatuation anymore, it’s “love eternal”, as Farmer Dave speaks to in “Gem”. Even lighthearted tunes, like “Falling Forever,” in which Rademaker sings “it feels like I’ve been falling forever, and the world keeps turning round, whatever…” are tinged with the sound of earned wisdom. “Wild Swans” is a perfect closer, Chris Gunst’s lullaby-like voice promising the music never ends.

The band proves that love conquers all and after having been through so much, they’ve matured together and have turned out a record of perception, sagacity, and of course, ragged beauty.

Beachwood Sparks forever.