Don River and the cosmic art pop banter of "Laughing"

 

"You walk the dog, the fur on her face has gone white as a ghost, she's fourteen years old..."


For a decade I have been referring to songs as sonic Rorschach tests, textured inkblots of sound that we interpret and shape based on our own experiences sometimes even more than what the auteur of the song reveals to us. I thought about this belief while listening to the exquisite art pop spins and turns of "Laughing" by Toronto, Ontario singer songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Don River (aka Bradley Pearson). Often, press notes reveal a little about the song either as blossomed in full or as the mysterious seeds that nourished it, sometimes from dark places but I don't have any back story this time.

"Laughing" with it's sprite piano moves and artful splashes of orchestration as a gold ornate framed canvas for Pearson's aloof poetry feels like something between glam rock cabaret, chamber pop and art rock complete with red velvet (curtains or suits). Pearson is an expressive singer, the kind that sings with an out stretched hand and tipping of hats (figuratively speaking). 

The lyrics dazzle too like: 

"Your train of thought, a trans-continental liner, servicing the craters of Mars

The engine runs hot, the conductor is drunk on ambition she found in the bars we are

Taking, too long, we're gonna be laughing about it, in no time at all

And I, don't wanna keep dancin' around it, when you've said enough with your eyes..."

But within the situations shared the line about "laughing about it, in no time at all" feels like gallows humor. The stately white pickets that encircle this performance might have loose nails and soon be falling down. The singing while the Titanic sinking starts to feel dour adding gravitas to the joyful sadness here. In this way I thought of Harry Nilsson and Sparks even and the sense that life might just be a cosmic joke and maybe that fact give us some solace in the long run. 

That is my two cents, my reading of those sonic inkblots. 

The talented players: 

Don River (Bradley Pearson): writer, vocals, piano, tenor sax, engineer 

Madeleine Ertel: Trumpet
Jake Klein: Bass
Jake Birman: Drums
Kalila Badali: Additional Vocals

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://donriver.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/donrivermusic/

https://www.instagram.com/donriverthemusic/

https://twitter.com/donrivermusic


I'm Don River (aka Bradley Pearson), a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist from Toronto, Ontario. Hope you enjoy the tunes!

Don River, singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, aka Bradley Pearson, Ontario, Toronto, Canada, indie pop, Art pop, indie rock, "Laughing", acerbic pop,