Scott Orr – Worried Mind
Other Songs – 19 October 2018
I first encountered the name Scott Orr in 2012, not through his own music, but via an eponymous indie-folk release by the sweetly named Timid, the Brave. The gorgeous album was both produced by Orr and released on Other Songs (formerly appended with Music Co.), the label he founded and runs in Hamilton, Ontario. Such was the quality of Timid, the Brave’s music that I took a look at the label’s roster, to my delight finding that there was definitely a ‘thing’ occurring therein, a sound and mood pervading the Other Songs catalogue to that point. By and large, intimate and emotional folk-rooted material is what Other Songs’ artists trade in, Orr included.
And with the notable sore thumb exception of 2016’s curious ‘White Noise’ project (consisting of four 30 minute 24 seconds-long tracks of exactly that), Other Songs has continued in much the same vein these last six years. Yet Orr’s own music is definitely moving forward: evolving from minimalist acoustic fare, analogue electronics have entered the equation, albeit with subtlety. This said, as beautifully illustrated on Worried Mind, if anything the introduction of synthetic elements provides a sturdier base over which Orr’s delicate voice can relate his personal stories. This new approach in no way detracts from the tenderness of delivery and aching melodies that fans of Orr’s music, like myself, have become accustomed to, and while this is a tweaked new sound for him all the core components remain intact – especially the intimacy – so Worried Mind is hardly a Dylan-goes-electric moment.
Including two versions of A Long Life and a 2016 demos album for 2011’s Where I Lived and What I Lived For, Worried Mind is Orr’s seventh full-length release and, considering he explains the lyrical content as an examination of ‘anxiety, worry, and the beauty of having someone to share it with,’ likely his most personal statement to date. Recorded at home between March 2017 and May 2018, whether intentional or not the consistent instrumentation, production, ambience and interconnected themes throughout Worried Mind’s nine tracks present it as a meditative song cycle.
Gently pulsing, pinging and twittering synths, acoustic guitars and Orr’s soft, crystalline voice float through a homemade lo-fi haze, with – like the production on Other Songs’ signing John Thumb’s self-titled 2017 release – fuzz, crackles, footsteps and random sounds adding to the unashamedly organic vibe. This analogue approach and the album’s laid-back, dreamy pace mark Worried Mind as a beauteous, melancholy treat. I listen to and often immerse myself in a lot of reflective, downbeat music like this – so my standards are high – but as with most of Other Songs output thus far, Orr’s latest hushed opus most certainly makes the grade.
https://shop.othersongsmusic.com/album/worried-mind
Photo Credit: Jesse Hunt