1) Last Conversation in Waltz Time; 2) Wild Animals Slowly Approaching the Lovely Country Funeral; 3) Out Cold on Indian Ambien (Dreams of Pay Dirt); 4) Meeshell; 5) Good Chord Song for LP Two; 6) Bird Feeder Soap Opera Plot; SepDecember Song
Predictably lovely piano improvisations, fit for a freebie release for fans.
Key tracks: "Last Conversation in Waltz Time", "Wild Animals Slowly Approaching the Lovely Country Funeral"
This isn’t an integral canon entry in the saga of Jason Lytle - as the title implies this was Christmas gift to fans, released as a free download and which consists of seven solo piano instrumentals. Improvised instrumentals at that, if the blurb on the cover is to be believed. This is Lytle in the peace of his home, brainstorming for more music after his return to music earlier in the year, and we just happen to hear it out of a whim.
But for what it is, it’s a surprisingly strong and enduring listen. Lytle is actually a very enjoyable pianist - maybe not on a technical level and he shouldn’t quit his day job over it, but his gift of melody and penchant for somber melancholy are a natural fit for the instrument, especially with how his songwriting changed during his latter day career. These are lovely little ditties, a little haphazardly wandering due to their improvisational nature but beautiful to listen to. Calming, as well; if Yours Truly the Commuter relished in its particular coziness, that aspect is taken even further here. And maybe it’s just the knowledge of this being a winter holiday release, but the relevant associations are rife with the music here: it’s about as perfect a quiet snowy day soundtrack as you could want, perfect for quiet contemplation when the world turns powdery white. Put “Last Conversation in Waltz Time” or “Wild Animals Slowly Approaching the Lovely Country Funeral” on and life instantly seems more peaceful. I mention those songs specifically because they’re the homes for the loveliest melodies of the album, though in the long run none of the songs are too far away or particularly distinguishable from one another, and not necessarily in a bad way. “Good Chord Song for LP Two” might be of particular interest to anyone who really enjoyed “Somewhere There’s Someone” from Dept. of Disappearance, now here in its original embryonic form as the title suggests. “Meeshell” also apparently interpolates The Beatles’ “Michelle” but it’s subtle enough that as someone who’s not too familiar with the source, the reference is lost on me.
Lytle never intended this to be anything more than a quick surprise gift for the fans, but I’ve found that this has secured a life beyond just curio status or relegated to its designated holiday season (there’s literally nothing Christmas-sy here after the title). 30 minutes of Lytle’s gentle, lovely piano is a delightful thing, moreso than one would’ve expected and as far as random freebie downloads go this is definitely from the better end. The only thing that could have really improved it is a little bit more compositional focus instead of relying on improvisation, but then would this have sounded as relaxed as it does now in that case? Either way, it’s really rather nice - it’s no exaggeration when I say that this is probably the Lytle solo release I find myself playing the most.
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