“A song of conflicted feelings, where the bright folk sound is shaded by something more melancholic. As though every good moment will also be shadowed by the understanding such a time can only be temporary.” That’s how we described ‘Jewels’, the lead single from Alek Barkats‘s album Here we are in the garden, forthcoming later this month on Ghost Mountain Records. But rather than letting this sensation tend towards a more pessimistic direction, the Philadelphia-based songwriter took a more proactive approach. Working in the belief that comfort and joy can be built with your own two hands.
The album sees a whole host of guests elevate the Alex Barkats sound. Emmett Moskowitz (bass, guitars) and David Mandle (drums) make up the core band, but Tacie Moskowitz (singing), Geoff Saba (synths, electric guitar), Travis Snyder (pedal steel), Lizzy Dutton (violin), Artur Friedhoff (violin), Nansamba Ssensalo (viola), Abe Finkelstein (cello) and Ben Hartman (saxophones) all lend their talents too. This arrangement is apparent in all its glory on latest single ‘Butter’. Folk in its warmest, brightest form, channelling the sun-glazed seventies style in its easygoing spirit, though with enough jangle to get those toes tapping too. “It’s all about goodness and light,” as Barkats explains. “Basking in the artificial glow of TV, consuming pop music, the open road forever. No thinking. No nothing. Just enjoying.”
Oh It’s magic
When you turn the dial of the radio
Our feet succumb to your finger and thumb
And there’s butter on every note
Yeah there’s butter on every note