Pittsburgh’s OrangeG and his Desert Island Album

LONDONPEAKY invites a different musician each week to select the one album that would accompany them to their desert island.

Today please welcome our favourite ‘Musical Scientific Musician Scientist,’ OrangeG.

IF stranded, I would be hard pressed to find a disc that broke the silence as well as Bright Eyes’ 2002 masterpiece, ‘Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground.’

Let’s face it, if you were stuck on a desert island you are going to tire of any record, but variety is the spice of life. Lifted is a one hour and thirteen-minute roller coaster of emotion that transcends genre and addresses so many topics that I have struggled with in life: coming of age, religion, relationships, depression and existential crisis.

Starting off with a classic Bright Eyes field recording-laden lofi-folk tune, ‘The Big Picture’ delivers a sneak peek at the journey of introspection the album will embark upon. Just a banjo and an understated and almost hesitant backing vocalist accompany Conor Oberst’s emphatic song which questions religion and the journey of life.

The intense-punk adjacent ‘Method Acting’ invites the listener to make peace with the falling leaves and their parallels with our own lives. And ‘You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.’ makes for a double-edged gut punch of a love song.

The album takes a welcome dip into the electronic with ‘Lover I Don’t Have To Love,’ and one of my favourite tunes on the album is ‘Nothing Gets Crossed Out’ which has always been a solace for my mind troubled with too many obligations (I guess it would be a reminder of what life was like before being stranded.)

‘From a Balance Beam’ is a triumphant anthem of personal change with a dash of apocalyptic endings. The album ends on a serious jam with ‘Let’s Not Shit Ourselves (To Love and to Be Loved)’ as Oberst reflects upon politics, debauchery, family and the future.

I can only imagine the topics, musical diversity, and Conor’s distinctive voice being my best friend to break through the endless loneliness of a desert island.

Connect with OrangeG: @orangeg | Linktree

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