Not all albums are created equal. Some are here to make you cry, some are here to pick you up when you’re down, and then others are just here to downright confuse you. “Fisher King”, the full-length freshman attempt by Brooklyn singer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Wagner (better known as Furrows), somehow accomplishes all three. The instrumentation of this album is something out of an enchanted fairy tale, carrying every beat of the fantastic with elegiac melodic flows and vivid lyricism, and creates an atmosphere that I have not had the pleasure of experiencing elsewhere in music thus far. Producer and string instrumentalist Sahil Ansari and Wagner worked very close with each other during the course of this artwork’s production, contributing to the almost destined mash of soft synth with true string sounds such as the cello, violin, and of course the guitar. Next to the masterful instrumental blend is Wagner’s uncanny flair for colorful imagery in his lyrics, which give the project a hopeful and inspiring tone that contrasts perfectly with the somber and mellow sounds blanketing the album. Blend up all these ingredients and Furrows has delivered us 8 pieces of art that will ask you to look into the void and wonder at just how beautiful emptiness can be.
The first artwork on this project is “Capernaum”, a beautifully somber but loving piece carried by Wagner’s muffled yet earnest guitar and dreamy candlelight vocals that sound like the inventions of a breakdown ready to happen at any moment (but never comes). We are met yet again by the delightful use of the acoustic guitar in “Your Vision”, this time accompanied by a stronger beat and steeper vocals, creating a slight sense of urgency and scope over the vast parallels of the nature of this album. Near the end of this track, the scope of musical brilliance only grows larger with the inclusion of deep bass tones from the cello, no longer buoying the track on a schooner, but a majestic galleon. Following up these two masterclasses in cloud-like notation and timbre in acoustics, we have “Grey Cities”, the main single released for the LP. It is obvious to see why it was chosen for this, as the acoustics are pulled back in favor of the synthetic, with more pop-oriented vocals and chord structure helping endear this album to the wider audience. Remember when I said that this album will ask you to look over the edge and admire the beauty of emptiness? “Burial” asks you that question in full. The acoustics have even more feeling and faculty then before, holding you against a sense of hopefulness musically, but hollowing dread lyrically. While you admire the calming elegance of the instrumentation (that I obviously cannot get enough of), Furrow’s sings you a lullaby that will do nothing but keep you up pondering your life ambitions. Wagner picks up the pace a little bit with “Mirrors”, again with a heavier emphasis on the beat with what sounds like a true snare drum, complimented by the solemn cry of the violin icing the top of this intricate layer cake of a song. The next piece, “Wasteland”, delivers exactly what is promised in the title, with the lyrics imagining the end of the world, symbolized by the loss of direction in the human experience. This track lacks a heavy amount of acoustics as the others have on the album, but somehow accomplishes the most intricate musical writing of the bunch, with engaging chord progressions in the chorus that solidify the hopeless feeling of the end of the world, or your mind. Furrows tricks us once again with “Caught Adrift”, with its upbeat guitar fills and generally “happier” vocals but with lyrics that will no doubt have you in wonder of life through Peter Wagner’s eyes. To close out this testament to careful craftsmanship, “Doldrums” sends us off through rivers and valleys, with Wagner’s vivid imagination coming to the forefront again, poised against the silent sway of Furrows’ methodical synth sounds. This track creates a feeling of uncertainty in where you’ll end up when the last note is rung, but to me, that makes it all the more mysteriously enchanting.
Overall, this album is concise, it’s interesting, and it is downright gorgeous. The feelings that each song brings out in the listener as you go through the listing is purposeful, and akin to the carefully placed brushstrokes of a hall of captivating paintings hung in a modern art museum. The ethereal and dreary yet warm feeling that the sublime instrumentation has produced, along with Wagner’s poetic flair for vivid scenery, have culminated in my favorite project I have reviewed this fall season. Honestly, it is impossible not to fall in love with that cello!
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