The new album by Busman’s Holiday, Popular Cycles, is a vehicle to the lives of others. It is a continuation and elaboration of their previous albums, A Long Goodbye and Old Friends. While their earlier efforts pulled in for portraits at close range, their new collection zooms in to capture the private moments in a family’s back yard, then gazes up at the macrocosm, turning to planets and tree-crushing storms. The writerly duo is detail-oriented and lyric-driven; they uncork the hidden champagne. Much like the lyrical content, the musical landscape of Popular Cycles spans grandly, from the booming of a 21-piece orchestra to the solitary sound of a singing bowl. . Recorded at Arcade Fire’s Sonovox Studio, the writing of the album concluded in a snowed-in apartment above. Arranger Matt Nowlin and producer Mark Lawson helped them capture a more adventurous sound, riding forward on pulsing acoustic rhythms. Busman’s Holiday imitated sounds they’d heard in electronic music with acoustic instruments, the way a mockingbird mimics a car horn. The resulting sound is both familiar but fresh. From western soundtracks to a drone of 12-strings, tones of forgiveness sweet enough to taste, funky drummers, the splish-splosh of fingers & palms, and melancholy chanting. At the end of a Busman’s Holiday show, you leave with a sense of community, humor and melody. Addison & Lewis Rogers place importance on joy
TRACK LISTING
1. Mother, Unknowing
2. Make Believe
3. See The Rain
4. What We Need We Know
5. Hope & Peace
6. No One Could Be
7. Jesus' Mother
8. Evening Flows
9. I'm Coming Home.