I don’t think about high school or college much at all. Sure, there are memories of going to shows with paramours, of struggling through morning classes after nights I regret or can’t recall. For all of it, though, I feel little to no nostalgia, which is relieving. Without that ache I feel like I can actually live in the now. Despite not really experiencing that longing, and likely a result of anxiety due to the world we live in, I’m more preoccupied with my present and my immediate future.
When I listen to Union Fool’s latest EP, Act Natural, something akin to nostalgia somehow creeps in. I don’t necessarily yearn for the past, nor do I miss much of anything that has come before; all those memories and feelings, in contrast to their documentarian black and white, are tinted sepia and warmly blurred around the edges.
Lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter Devin Whitaker’s performances do all the yearning, be it for human connection, confidence, peace and tranquility, or just the ability to get through the day. On the eponymous single, lead guitarist Himanshu Arora’s lines recall the catchy, early-to-mid-2000s pop-punk where the riffs could be sung along to just as well as the lyrics. Between Whitaker’s bemoaning the dating scene and exhaustion in a new home city, and Arora’s keen sense of musicality inspiring those early feelings of bouncing at Irving Plaza and moshing at Ethical Humanist Society, I forget about all my adult problems for a moment and relish the feelings of yesterday.
For all the nostalgia I lack, I possess anxiety in droves. How will I pay my bills this month? With all of the professional and personal moves that I’m making, when will my life pass the turning point of the grind to maintenance and pleasure?
Coupled with that anxiety, time passes by in grey hairs. I force myself to do as much as I can and distract myself from dwindling time with busyness and activity. I need to read more, write more, create more, be more. I have literally asked myself, “Why can’t I slow down?” phoneswithchords (aka Arthur Alligood) collaborates with songwriter Ben Sooy of acclaimed Denver rock band A Place for Owls to wrestle with that question and tackle the challenges associated with aging on phoneswithBen.
There is warmth and comfort in the intimate naturalism of the album. Chairs creak along wooden floorboards as fingers slide across an acoustic guitar. Children play behind the beats and underneath a coaxed piano. phoneswithBen, in its lyrics and melodies, its mixing and mastering, is produced with such extreme human beauty.
Plain and simple, listening to this album combat the angst of mortality in these songwriters’ homes makes me feel like I’ll be okay. It’s a warm touch comforting my shaking hand; it’s a pal taking me out for a beer on a Friday after work.
Like a good friend, I know phoneswithBen will be there when I need it, and it’ll be just what I need not only to keep going but to slow down and enjoy life better.
Although I write for myself, the process, and plainly just for fun, getting paid to do so would make this enterprise even more rewarding. Thank you for reading.