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By Hannah Rogers<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Singer\/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov\u2019s sixth studio album, <\/span>Evening Machines<\/span><\/i>, released Oct. 5 of this year, is an amalgamation of indie and folk infused ballads, accompanied by delicate vocals, strings, and percussion. In an interview with <\/span>Atwood Magazine<\/span><\/i>, Isakov revealed that most of the songs were written in Colorado, and are intended to be infused with the spirit of the mountainous state. Though not really a departure from his usual sound, which is full of thoughtful, gentle ballads accompanied by subtle instrumentals, the album does not disappoint. <\/span><\/p>\n The album opens with \u201cBerth,\u201d a melancholy, indie-sounding lament about making peace with hard times of the past. The next song, \u201cSan Luis,\u201d is a calm ballad, which opens with just an acoustic guitar and makes pleasant use of quiet drums in the background. \u201cSouthern Star,\u201d the third track, is a more upbeat, short song which makes interesting use of strings\u2014starting off with swift plucks and leading into more elaborate violin solos. \u201cPowder,\u201d accompanied by a female background vocalist, opens with an ethereal, almost suspenseful build to the chorus, with nature-oriented lyrics and a relaxing blend of instruments and vocals. \u201cBullet Holes,\u201d a more upbeat love song, starts off with soft humming and focuses more on the sound of Isakov\u2019s vocals\u2014especially in the chorus\u2014than the other songs on the album. The next song, \u201cWas I Just Another One,\u201d is a lyrically poetic, thoughtful, and soft ballad with an instrumental build-up towards the end, and an easing back into quiet to finish. <\/span><\/p>\n The second half of the album starts off with \u201cCaves,\u201d which was released as a single in August of 2018. A steady drum beat carries the song, as a group of background vocalists sing along with Isakov to create the feeling of an uplifting, wholesome memory, reminiscent of sitting by a fire and having a jam session with friends. \u201cChemicals,\u201d a darker piece, is about being under the influence and feeling like \u201cgravity\u2019s gone,\u201d with high-pitched, impactful vocals introducing the first chorus. Another single, released in September, \u201cDark, Dark, Dark,\u201d is an ode to a woman named Maria, who also appeared in Isakov\u2019s 2013 album, <\/span>The Weatherman<\/span><\/i>. This song is a catchy foot-tapper, and it makes sense that it would be released as a single; there is also a delightful banjo solo worth mentioning. \u201cToo Far Away,\u201d a wistful and serene lament, is about past memories, with an emotional build-up of sound at the end. \u201cWhere You Go,\u201d another (folkier) lament, is about the desperation of feeling lost or stuck, and has a nice balance of instruments\u2014especially the delicate guitar riffs\u2014and vocals. Finally, the album ends on a positive note with Isakov\u2019s proclaimed favorite of the 12 songs, \u201cWings in All Black.\u201d In the interview with <\/span>Atwood Magazine<\/span><\/i>, Isakov described it as the \u201cultimate redemption song,\u201d because he wrote it about looking forward after coming out of a hard time: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019ve been down, down, down \/ Now I\u2019m back.\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Overall, <\/span>Evening Machines <\/span><\/i>provokes a sense of peace and thoughtfulness about the world. It is a journey through life\u2019s emotions, both melancholy and content, nostalgic and regretful. It is the perfect album to listen to when you want to feel: whether you are sitting in your string-lit bedroom, or on a solo walk in the woods. Isakov knows how to evoke a sense of introspection through delicate, poetic vocals and soft, but deliberate instrumentals. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Hannah Rogers Singer\/songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov\u2019s sixth studio album, Evening Machines, released Oct. 5 of this year, is an amalgamation of indie and folk infused ballads, accompanied by delicate vocals, strings, and percussion. In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Isakov revealed that most of the songs were written in Colorado, and are intended to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1524],"tags":[157,26,642,364,641,47,31,25],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3356,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3354\/revisions\/3356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}