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Fitzgerald:
Raised by Wolves
This albums opener How Far North? sucked me in immediately with its male-female harmonies and thick and gentle acoustic instrumentation. Theres a twist of folk, and twists of Saddle Creek bands like Bright Eyes, Azure Ray, and Rilo Kiley. But a song as good as How Far North? stands out in a way that the afformentioned bands have rarely achieved. Cello, unusual percussion, and a menacing acoustic guitar hook are standard fare for any of these bands, but when they are really on, Fitzgerald have a bit more to offer. The band is essentially a two-piece consisting of married couple, Nathan and Mandy Tensen-Woolery. Their creative persistence in music exists somewhat surprisingly in the context of what appears to be a fairly emotionally secure relationship. Therefore, you dont get any direct emotional rants and tirades about the meaning of love, or why girls and guys suck. Fitzgeralds lyrical themes on the other hand possess a far more obscure and creative tendency. Words like love still pop up every now and then, but the songs seem to inhabit a more thoughtful plane than I am used to hearing from artists in the folk arena. Listening to the menacing cello that simulates wolf squeals during These Missing Hands is a good example of what Fitzgerald is capable of. Simpler songs such as I Can Breathe Underwater and We Watched It Fall are no less engaging. The vocal tones really suck you in, particularly on the latter track. Not everything is perfect here. A few songs like The Alligator Wrestler and Floating Fro and Through arent incredibly exciting, and Bloody Stumps certainly has some odd lyrics. Overall, this LP is a strong release that hints even more optimistically at Fitzgeralds future potential. More tracks as strong as How Far North? are certainly what Id like to see from these two musicians, but Id probably attribute the band enough intelligence to understand where their own true strengths already lie.
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