AP Track Review
When I first started listening to the track Human by Nashville's alt folk / indie rock Arts Fishing Club the song felt a bit to straight forward for me. I mean, I swim in avant garde waters a lot of the time and like my poetic songs sort of vague and interpretive. The sweep of the song and Christopher Kessenich's words, as beautiful and earnest as they were, felt so goddamn direct and maybe even too preachy. And then his soft punches started connecting with me and not in a "that's catchy" sort of way but deeply and then his heavy punches hit hard, so hard that they left emotional bruises. Those bruises may fade over time but the song has left it's mark.
The band in total bolsters the wistful song with upfront acoustic guitar, sparse keys and organ, country spun lead guitar lines (love the lead break), embracing drums and bass but the focus is Kessenich's vocal performance and the song itself that could easily cross over to mainstream pop and even country audiences. I mean it has more heart than 5000 bro-country songs put together. The song with it's focus on nostalgia and Polaroid memories "what ever happened to cops and robbers" pleads us all to put down our phones and connect, make real connections throughout our day and lives. As much as the song makes statements, it asks more societal questions and whether anyone answers might be beside the point, asking any important questions, casting concerns sprinkled with hope out in the world are positive seeds that can flower.
Human is the title track of Arts Fishing Club. Of the song they share:
The song is about the sinking feeling of losing touch with humanity in the modern age. As we integrate with technology, it seems like the principles that anchored us as humans are slipping away and the lack of connectedness with that leaves a lonely soul pondering about where we've come and what life used to be like in times of innocence.
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Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
A move to Nashville to pursue a musical dream. An historic 1,600 mile tour completed on foot. The impending release of a two-part album. For Christopher Kessenich, the Wisconsin-bred singer-songwriter behind Arts Fishing Club, all of these were essential steps of personal commitment to spend his life making music—something he always imagined was possible but that crippling fear and societal pressure almost derailed before it could begin.
After landing in Nashville for college, recording a solo EP, and completing a 1600 mile walking tour with folk collective The Walking Guys, Kessenich began to search for bandmates to help realize the Arts Fishing Club sound he had always imagined. He hit the road putting together show after show with countless iterations of band members. After two years of touring, he finally found a home in Matthew Siffert (Bass), Peter Eddins (Keys/Sax), and Jimi Greene (Lead Guitar). The four began to plan their debut album, Human.
For Arts Fishing Club, their guiding principle comes from the wisdom of generations past. “Both of my grandfathers are named Art and the majority of my memories with both of them are centered around fishing,” Kessenich explains. “They taught me that fishing is about going out every day with the intention for success. Every single line you cast, you are trying, yet when you come up empty handed, the day is not wasted.” The name Arts Fishing Club is an homage to these familial roots and is a play on words to help keep focus in their grandfathers’ philosophies. “We are fishing for our art (music) everyday with intention and the name is a constant reminder that it is not about catching a "big fish" (writing a hit song), it is about creating with people that we love.”
The songs, written over a four-year period, each explore a specific emotion or idea of who we are as humans. Their musical mission statement is three-pronged: to help people ask the difficult questions of themselves and society, to articulate love (the good and the bad), and to get people to dance. Recorded at Smoakstack Studios in Nashville with Collin Pastore (Lucy Dacus, Collin Elmore) and Zach Zinck at the helm, the first set of songs ranges from somber atmosphere to fun-loving summery anthems—all with a deeply-rooted set of questions at their core.
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