Lemoncello - Perfect Place
Lemoncello - Perfect Place
Words: Ruby Larson
The remarkable thing about folk as a genre is its capacity for storytelling. What’s more remarkable still is how contemporary folk has evolved to incorporate a distinctly personal artistic sensibility. It still carries that old tradition of oral storytelling, but now filters it through profound emotional intimacy. That’s exactly what Perfect Place achieves.
It is an album rooted in vulnerability; it’s wrapped up in fervent reflections on life and what it means to navigate it despite all of its instability.There is a strong sense of immediacy underscoring the album, alongside grand emotional swells that are built up beautifully through a mix of guitar and cello work. These arrangements give the songs a cathartic quality, one that frequently threatens to choke you up through their touching vocals and heartfelt lyricism. The record feels both deeply personal yet still entirely relatable, capturing emotions that are difficult to describe but easy to recognize yourself in.
Opening with ‘Clear Eyes Open Ready’ wordlessly situates the listener within the spiritual and tonal landscape of the album before seamlessly blending into the next track, ‘Articulate Animal.’ The latter feels especially raw and visceral and, as the title might suggest, like a call to our more primal instincts. Every track has its own emotional poignancy worth a shout but ‘Karaoke Night’ was a particular standout for me. It felt like a shift away from the more abstract storytelling that preceded it, grounding the album in a more recognizably modern setting. That change in perspective only heightens its affective impact, and by the end of the track I found myself getting teary-eyed. The album closes with its title track, ‘Perfect Place,’ a beautiful and fitting send-off that leaves the listener with a lingering sense of warmth, reflection and emotional release.