Andrey Psyché*, a multi-talented artist out of Auburn, WA, has taken a break from his book writing, painting, and leggings-making to put out a new single, “Fallen Leaves.” As a singer-songwriter, Psyché’s work often delves into the folk tradition. This track is no different, but the incredibly rhythmic guitar line adds a subtly intricate layer of blues rock underneath the folk exterior.
The guitar is really the star of this track, and it starts out strong with a lulling, finger-picked pattern. Throughout the entire song, as Psyché coos up and down the track, the guitar is the anchor. The vocal melody has a definitive pattern, but Psyché also manages to make slight changes that keep monotony at bay. The guitar works much the same way, with a regular pattern imbibed with ultra flair at key points.
The guitar works so well, though, because of what Psyché does to the vocal line. Instead of typical singer-songwriter ilk, Psyché distorts his vocals so they sound — for lack of a better word — pixelated. It’s like he’s singing to you through a rotary phone; you can understand each word clearly, but there’s a layer of fuzz that your ear keeps fighting to get through. It’s a really compelling choice that adds a new and exciting element for the listener to parse.
Underneath the vocal and guitar is a soft drum, created solely by what sounds like different kinds of mouth clicks. This adds a uniquely personal layer to the track. It’s wonderfully well done, especially paired with the unusuality of the vocals.
While the vocal effects are masterful, the actual content of the lyrics is a little indiscernible. My favorite line of “Fallen Leaves,” which really captures Psyché’s essence — “if you glance down at your feet / they’ll march you to your dreams” — is adorable, but not very hard hitting. The following lines — “if you open your clenched fist / the world will look to you for answers” — don’t quite hit the mark, either. What he’s trying to say is, basically, you get back what you put out, but it takes time to parse these lines, and the resulting conclusion is just kind of like, “oh.”
The message is there, but, as a poet, I’d like to see Psyché be more creative with his conveyances.
Around three minutes, the track slows, following a coolly surprising, raspy, vocal fry addition, and it sounds like the end. Then, it picks up again around 3:30. At four minutes and 50 seconds, the last two minutes or so of this track are like a bonus track; they don’t add much overall, but I’m also not upset about getting to hear more of Psyché’s immaculate guitar playing.
“Fallen Leaves,” while it lacks a comprehensible message, thoroughly exceeds the sound standards for the singer-songwriter genre. Just based on sound and musicality, this track would make coffee shop patrons around the city whip out their Shazam apps and soothe their psychés.
*Psyché is a reporter on the Dan’s Tunes team
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