8 old vines ep,
Album of the Week,
Album review,
anthony delplato,
steak and cake,
tom
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As the cover artwork on Anthony DelPlato’s EP 8 Old Vines may suggest, this 5-track collection pairs well with drives through tumultuous weather. I recently found myself driving along Oneida Lake near Syracuse last week at dusk before a thunderstorm. I parked my borrowed car (DelPlato’s lyric, coincidentally my reality) at a nearby park at the water’s edge and watched the elements shift and revolt in anticipation as I listened to DelPlato’s 5-track gem out via Buffalo's own Steak and Cake Records. I took some undecipherable notes while I was drawn into each song by the lake and decided to piece them into a haphazard track-by-track review of sorts.
1. "The Old Hammer Mill"
Clouds: moldy, close, menacing.
Air Conditioner: irrelevant, toast.
The way this track begins reminds me of the way Sufjan Steven’s “The Predatory Wasp of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us” ends in it’s buzzing madness. Although, as it ensues it aligns much more in the strand of a Brand New song, complete with clean guitar tracks being layered and feathered about and eventually interrupted by a killer drum beat that is powerfully uplifting. I also sort of forgot where I was until DelPlato’s lyric: “Just before the storm clouds rolled in / My borrowed car broke down.” I retroactively feel like a prick because the car I was driving was running just fine. Also, you wont hear me compare anymore that 15 seconds of this EP to anything by Sufjan Stevens.
2. "The Long Drive"
Waves: 5 or 6 thousand of them making some racket now.
A man’s hat just flew off his head and into the water: yes.
Should you go on a road trip to this song on repeat: of course.
Again, we get some beautiful guitars reminding you how intricate certain landscapes are. This is a track you look out a car window to and become petrified at how much land you will never touch. In the shittiest of car stereos DelPlato’s vocals sound desperate, compelling at times. On his Bandcamp page’s liner notes it says he produced, recorded, mixed and mastered everything. On half-decent Sennheiser headphones, DelPlato’s vocals sound soothing and important. DePlato went to college for Audio Engineering, unlike my ears or headphones.
3. "The Arrival"
Steering wheel: cold, wet, and peeling a little.
Window: roll that shit up, it’s starting to rain.
DePlato is especially good at portraying imagery through narrative in his songwriting, and at points his stories get so stacked with detail it’s hard to follow. Then at other times, his lyrics are a bit more mysterious and this duality becomes necessary throughout the EP, and such is the case with “The Arrival”.
4. "8 Old Vines"
Windshield wipers: pointless, streaky.
Bass: turned up, the rain splattering the roof and hood sound too trebly.
Visibility: Gibson Hummingbird.
What might be the most enjoyable and intriguing track on this record is also the most sonically removed. Beginning and ending with an acoustic warmth that you’d have to wear like 12 Snuggies to match, “8 Old Vines” is an interesting commentary on the sprawl of cities and towns, but also the way that humans plant and uproot themselves physically and relationally. If this track had an unoriginal yet cool music video it would probably involve time-lapse videos of nature and infrastructure juxtaposed. It rains the hardest at the two-minute mark.
5. "The Departure"
Gear: drive.
Destination: undecided.
We get more of the upbeat guitar licks and snare claps until a little over two and a half minutes in where crystal clear strums are isolated 5 seconds apart. DelPlato inhales before he sings a striking line: “I will be writing you every week / Along with Crayola portraits of the [?] creek / Between those 8 old vines and the end of my drive / I swear to God I’ll find the courage to plant my own 'For Sale' sign.” In the cover artwork you can notice the words posted on every side-view mirror, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear,” which becomes more or less an epiphany to the final track on what's essentially a concept EP. Through meandering images of uncertainty, especially in regard to place, "The Departure" reflects the notion that what seems hopeless or out of reach at first glance, is often portrayed through a lens that colors it in such a way.
Specifically, 8 Old Vines is about overcoming that fear to take the chance and do something that may scare you, but might also be good for you in the end. DelPlato possesses an affinity for multiple guitar tracking, weaving sonic walls of varying heights and depths that work to manipulate various moods and ideas that come out of his storytelling, which we find to be his strongest attribute as a songwriter.
awesome review