Mason Lindahl – Kissing Rosy in the Rain : Review

In the last year, Tompkins Square has put out some of my favorite guitar albums that share a warm, intimate vibe – Josh Kimbrough’s Slither, Soar, & Disappear, John Lee Shannon’s In & Of come to mind, records that feel like you’re sitting right next to the player, expressive and bright.

Mason Lindahl’s Kissing Rosy in the Rain, while still retaining that same intimacy, is on the other end of that spectrum. It’s got a hunger, an introspective moodiness and somber feel reflective of the lonelier side of winter in New York City. Each of the songs are gorgeous indeed, Lindahl’s playing percussive and each gentle brush of hand on string and wood audible.

Recorded in Oakland and Brooklyn with Lindahl’s friends Jay Pellici (Dilute, 31 Knots, Natural Dreamers) Robby Moncrieff, and Ben Greenberg (Uniform/Hubble), the guitarist and composer is influenced by minimalism and classical music.

The intensity is apparent immediately with opening track, “Sky Breaking, Clouds Falling,” an apt metaphor and a thesis for the album’s use of space – bouts of fast, feverish playing interwoven with short, elegant reprieves. The resonance and hymnal synth of “Outside Laughing” makes the listener feel small, while oddly “Distress” stands out as one of the more optimistic-feeling tracks. The title track is lovely, wistful; the intensity and depth returns on “Deep Wish.” The culminating track, “Fantasy in Spectacle,” with its Flamenco flavor leads you to believe the final notes will end with an air of hopefulness – but ultimately, there’s an ambivalence, leaving the listener with more questions and the need to start the album over from beginning to attempt to grasp its depth.

Get Kissing Rosy in the Rain on Bandcamp.