Forever Stories of Moving Parties - Peggy Lee; Cole Schmidt
Forever Stories of Moving Parties
Peggy Lee; Cole Schmidt
Earshift Music (peggyleecoleschmidt.bandcamp.com/album/forever-stories-of-moving-parties)
Cellist Peggy Lee and guitarist Cole Schmidt have been playing together since 2017 and their deep trust and easy communication naturally extend to their community of exceptional improvisors, many of whom add their voices to the conversations on this album. “The initial concept for the record had to do with hosting a party,” remarks Schmidt, “[one] that included all kinds of people and characters connecting on different conversations in different rooms of the house.”
Lee and Schmidt have a way of being lyrically tight compositionally while at the same time being flexible and open to new ideas. Their generous co-leadership has resulted in them structuring compositions which leave lots of room for improvisation. The result is exactly what the album describes it to be; a group of friends getting together to float through the album like conversations at a house party, no two being alike. Many of the tracks were made remotely between studios in Vancouver, Melbourne, Montreal and home recordings, retaining the album’s genuine feeling of collaboration and conversation, as well as allowing for multi-tracking and effects.
It Will Come Back features the vocals and electronics of Sunny Kim with exquisite backing from the band. Lisen Rylander Löve’s vocals on Dr. Dawn is a breathless standout and flows freely with experimental and layered cello. The melodic and dreamy for Ron Miles (featuring bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck) is gorgeous. Wayne Horwitz’s Wurlitzer on the seamless funk-out of Gloop stealthily creeps up inside the tune to a gloried end, and Dylan van der Schyff’s knockout drumming in Sungods is a whole trip on its own.
The final track Coda, featuring only Lee and Schmidt, feels like the exhausted end of a house party, when everyone has gone home, and two good friends finally have a sit-down on the sofa and feel warm and satisfied for having hosted a great gathering.