The gloom has lifted itself from Los Angeles, leaving me to enjoy the scorching heat with a comforting drink. For most, they prefer bourbon, but I prefer a splash of limes and lemons in my mint juleps. Now if there are two things I really enjoy in this world, it’s folk music and mint juleps, so you can only imagine my excitement when I learned about Canada native, Jeremy Fisher.
Mint Juleps takes me to the south, where I picture fireflies (not the Owl City kind) and wooden porches. The air is humid and summer rains quickly soak the day. With a heavily rhythmic guitar, I listen to stories and pick up on whimsical life lessons. Living in the world of this record is simple. Instruments and harmonies are easy to pick up on, giving the listener room to add their own voice to Jeremy’s sound.
Love is a prominent theme in Fisher’s album. “My Mind” and “Spin Spin,” reflect upon classic romances where lovers get caught in a “web of wild desire.” And what better way to emphasize the complexities of relationships than to incorporate the language of love. “I Lost My Baby” is a beautiful collision of English and French. Lyrics are evenly divided between the two tongues, leaving English-only listeners room to interpret how severe this loss was based on Jeremy’s overall intonation. (Almost unrelated: It reminded me, briefly of Michelle Branch’s Hotel Paper, wherein she also included French to emphasize her feelings grief.)
And when there is no more love to sing of, Jeremy is extremely creative with images, especially in “Canned Goods.” Think Grandma and fresh jams; luxuries by nature they are made with love by those who love us, unlike the processed foods we buy at the market out of necessity. Love, comes in all forms, and sometimes it comes in jars. An equally tender song is “The Part That Breaks,” where butterfly kisses fly away, and the storm suddenly become a little more frightening.
By the end of the album, I find myself with sunshine and a “Mint Julep” in hand to ”wash me away in the middle of the day.” Jeremy Fisher, you’re alright.
Mint Juleps appears courtesy of Hidden Pony and can be purchased at a bar – I mean – at www.jeremyfishermusic.com
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