Summer-winter, “Alone is Yes”
As a desolate guitar strums a slow and somber rhythm backed by a low-pitched ambiguous hum, the lyrics “all the days are dead/ I can’t find my friends” open Pittsburgh-based indie folk rock band Summer-winter’s appropriately titled first release, “Alone is Yes.”
“People say, ‘wow, this is so sad,’ which it is,” Terry O’Hara, the band’s frontman, said. “But it’s also appealing because there’s remnants of survival and hopefulness.”
Even as the opening track, “Summer’s Bound to End,” progresses in the same solemn manner as it began, those “remnants” can be heard in the arrangement and orchestration. Subtle hints of violins and a banjo add lightness to what could have been an overwhelmingly heavy, emotional song.
The album has a soothing, spacey sound, similar to a sedated Radiohead, with an autumnal ambience meant to chill the listener, as the band’s name appropriately suggests. The vocals echo eerily on each track, and the lyrics are, more than anything, just a means of further reinforcing the cheerlessness of the album as a whole. Constant echoes and disjointed melodies laden with loaded pauses lull the listener into a calm, yet melancholy, stupor.
A highlight track comes in the form of “I Am a Cloud,” which disrupts the acoustic guitar-driven melodies of the six tracks preceding it. A warbling organ provides psychedelic airiness, while the repetition of the lyrics “you can’t feel how I’m feeling” perfectly describe the theme of “Alone is Yes.”
The album plays as a continuous thought, with musical elements from the previous song overlapping into the next. There is a wholeness to the album, a satisfaction to be felt from listening to “Alone is Yes” in its entirety from start to finish. Individual tracks add value to the overall composition, yet can strongly stand on their own. Each song tells a different story of heartache or an attempt to understand a broken relationship, such as in the songs “Gone” and “It Makes You Cry.” With lyrics like “I’m sick of all the trying / you think love’s like dying” from “Counting on You,” O’Hara conveys emotions, like frustration over a dying relationship, in an accessible and relatable manner. “Alone is Yes” is the obvious work of a single artist, O’Hara, directing other artists to actualize a final vision.
“This is the first time I’ve created the music by myself,” O’Hara said. “In a band, it can be a nightmare … [Writing songs] becomes so time-consuming. But with a director, there’s no democracy. I can choose what gets put in...It’s a lot easier.”
Despite the overwhelming emotion of the album, O’Hara considers himself to be “a pretty content person,” tending to be more thoughtful when creating music than in daily life.
O’Hara stressed the importance of interpretation, adding all artists have different objectives, whether it be to entertain or provoke thought.
“Music is subjective,” O’Hara said. “I want people to be confused [by Summer-winter’s music]. Confusion is underrated.”
“Alone is Yes” can be purchased at Paul’s CDs in Bloomfield, Pa. or for $10 online at cdbaby.com.
*Published in 2010 Issue 6 of The Globe.
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