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Bryan Carrigan has been building towards an album like Fall
Into Winter for the last few years and I am happy to say that with the release
of his latest project he has shown that his ambient sensibilities have been
brought into sharp focus as he delivers a standout album that musically
captures the shortening days of fall as they slowly turn into the cold darkness
that is winter. While I am not a fan of the cold months of winter there is a
lot to be said for experiencing the season vicariously through the music that
Bryan has composed for Fall Into Winter. We are able to sit back in our comfy
chair and be transported into a world that is so very familiar to those of us
in the Northeast as we watch summer begin to turn chill, the leaves change
colors and eventually fall from the trees as a sign that even colder weather
and snow is going to arrive shortly. Bryan has captured some vignettes of this
shifting of the seasons in the music he has composed for Fall Into Winter and I
must say that he has done an excellent job of sonically painting the change of
seasons onto the musical palette of his latest release. Fall into Winter
features 12 tracks that run right around 73 minutes which makes this the
perfect album for an extended outing into the colder portion of the year.
Winter is not all about darkness, cold and endurance and
that is why Fall into Winter is also about the childlike aspects of winter that
can be found in all of us when we wake to see a heavy snow that has fallen
overnight. Everything looks dreamy and beautiful as you gaze upon the untouched
snow and we think back to our past when the only thing on our minds on a day
like this was…snow day. No school and hours of time to explore the snow covered
landscape that was created overnight courtesy of Mother Nature. As you might
suspect the song called Snow Day on this album evokes that feeling of seeing
the snow as an opportunity to play and have fun rather than as a burden that to
most adults simply means shoveling, rough driving conditions and inconvenience
as we go about our daily activities. With the sounds of children laughing and a
simple fanciful melody Bryan’s song captures the essence of waking up to the
“winter wonderland” of the first major snowfall and how it calls to the child
in all of us to simply enjoy it as a gift and not to spend an inordinate amount
of time worrying over all the adult consequences of heavy snow. It starts out
with an almost music box like quality with the sounds of children laughing
which transitions into reverberating tones that leaves the listener feeling
comforted and happy in the knowledge that winter is still a childlike
experience that we carry deep in our hearts buried under layers of adult
responsibilities and coping mechanisms.
The feel of Fall into Winter is a lot more winter than it is
of the fall but I think that is still in keeping with the way we perceive the
flow of time. The fall always seems to pass quickly as we race towards winter
so it is fitting that the music that represents fall should not occupy much of
the experience that is this new album. Bryan spent the last 2 years tweaking
this album and working to make it a great portrayal of annual events that so
many of us have fixed in our minds and he has done a great job of infusing the
music with subtle yet emotional aspects of the approaching of winter during the
fall and then moving through the winter months themselves. Judging by the song
titles I would say that Fallen Leaves, The Calm Before and After the Rain give
us a feel for the emotions of endings and preparing for a period of
introspection in our lives as we approach the colder months. Fallen Leaves
especially gives me this feeling with the simple keyboard arrangement that
echoes through your thoughts in a reflective kind of way with a haunting melody
that hovers over the landscape of your feelings as you walk through woods that
are colorful but beginning to show signs of dormancy.
The final track on this album is a marvelous triumph for
Bryan as he finishes up with a 22 minute journey called Comparing Snowflakes. This
piece is a perfect reflection of our world in the depths of winter when the
pace of life slows down and we retreat indoors for the duration. This
composition is a darker space than some of the other songs on this album and
the music is shadowy and slow-moving allowing the listener plenty of time to
enter in to this unhurried more meditative environment that is very indicative
of this time of the year. To me this track is a representation of our
perception of winter as feeling longer than say summer as we pass through the
snow and ice and the cold on our journey to the next spring. Even though winter
is no longer than the other seasons we tend to perceive it differently as
Comparing Snowflakes illustrates so well. Most of us perceive the passage of
time differently but for many of us the spring, the summer and the fall seem to
fly by. Without realizing it the seasons
are gone and we are left wondering what happened to the summer? How can it be
gone so quickly? And yet winter seems to perceptually last forever once we are
into the heart of the cold and the cycles of one snowstorm after another
bearing down on us making even simple routines of going to work or the grocery
store burdensome and difficult. While the track Snow Day celebrates the lighter,
more enjoyable aspects of facing winter Comparing Snowflakes looks more at the
perception of the length of the winter that many of us feel as we get into
January and February. Bryan’s composition reflects that darkness that surrounds
us as our journey becomes slower and more deliberate than the carefree days of
spring or summer. Through the use of muted synth tones and deep sounds that
resonates deep within the listener the music drifts and blows just like the
powdery snow we see out our windows on a wintery day. Bryan is able to paint a
picture with this composition that embodies not only the cold and the darkness
that settles around us during the winter months but it also presents us with
subtle hints of the peacefulness and the contemplative qualities of being in
the midst of this season that slows us all down perhaps for the first time
since warm weather returned earlier in the year.
You will find much to love on Bryan’s 6th album
as you are pulled into the quiet landscapes of fall and winter in a way that
will leave you with a greater appreciation for the seasons that perhaps the
listener has taken for granted for some time now. The album as a whole is a
serene journey filled with sounds that are comfy and chill that shows that Bryan
is ever evolving with his music and his ability to translate his inner vision
into compositions that speak to the hearts of his listeners. While much of the
music is more contemplative as is fitting for an album called Fall into Winter
there are some bright spots on this album that are certainly some of my
favorite compositions including Behind the Wall, Snow Day and Enchanted Cabin
all of which seem to share a feeling of wonder in the midst of the chillier impressions
that permeates the rest of the album. Winter has a duality about it that is the
cold unrelenting fierceness of a winter blizzard and the childlike innocence
that one feels when they walk out into the peacefulness of a fluffy new
snowfall that muffles all the sounds of your environment and makes everything
look wonderfully beautiful. Bryan has effectively captured both of these
feelings on Fall into Winter with songs that conveys both emotions. All in all
Fall into Winter is an excursion well worth taking and will be a rewarding
experience to listeners who are already preparing for what lies directly ahead
of us here in many parts of the United States. Recommended by Ambient Visions.
Reviewed by Ambient Visions
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