Avery Hellman uses their music project ISMAY to immerse the listener in a world of their childhood. We dive into a new album of alternative country and folk songs.
I admit that I’ve never stayed in parts of rural California; my family has driven through those areas while on vacation. Desert Pavement paints the atmosphere of a place that I’ve never seen.
Desert Pavement is ISMAY’s second album. The first, Songs of Sonoma Mountain, received accolades for weaving storytelling with experimental composition and detailed worlds in lyric form. Desert Pavement uses more string strumming than fingerpicking, allowing for waves to wash over the listener.
What does the album make me feel? It makes me feel wistfulness for the person that I used to be. ISMAY knows that people change over time; while change can be good, we never stay the same person. Hellman relates these changes in lyrics about people taking refuge in barns and finding a home, or talking about growing up. Even a creature like a ram can signify change between shearing seasons.
Hellman uses percussion tempo and volume to indicate songs that help us relax, and those that jolt us into listening. One can never get comfortable listening, because a brush or snare will wake us out of their gentle melodies. Andrew Marlin collaborates on this album, contributing with guitar and backup vocals.
ISMAY’s album knows how to change the listener’s mood with the right F major and B-flat major chords. You can lean back and mourn something you didn’t know you’ve lost when listening to “I Called You Up.” The singer mourns being older now, and losing that special bond with a parent that comes with being independent. Yet the singer insists that they are fine.
“Stranger in the Barn” takes on a more folk ballad quality, when the singer finds someone sleeping in the titular barn. Instead of freaking out, the family takes him in, sensing that a wayward soul needs a home. Hellman has explained that they take inspiration from their mother’s California ranch, which aimed for harmony and sustainable practices.
I’m going to be listening to Desert Pavement on loop. Each song reminds me it’s okay to take a moment to acknowledge when life changes before you know it.
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ISMAY is my favorite musical discovery of the year. Thank you Rainbow Rodeo for profiling ISMAY. I would have never found out about her music unless you had profiled her. “Desert Pavement” is soooooo good!