Organic. It's a good label for Aaron Sprinkle's music. It's also a good description of his music. Organic. It's a good play on the lush green home state of Organic Records, Oregon. Lush is a good description of Aaron Sprinkle's sound, and his latest album, The Kindest Days, is no exception. By using fewer loops and non-unique melodies, this album exceeds the moody sounds of Sprinkle's previous album, Moon Traveler. The Kindest Days is a Sunday drive through a winding leaf-littered highway in autumn. Sprinkle meanders and turns, revealing only vague hints of where he'll turn. The music is unpredictable and fresh. The first song melts into the last song with an obvious deliberate effort, yet without repetition. Maintaining the album's thematic undertones without sacrificing the originality of each song is a skill few can do quite as well as Sprinkle.
"So Discreet," the name of the opening track, really sets the tone musically and lyrically for this discreet, subtle and meek album. Yes, meekness characterizes the album. It is power under control. It's a provocative control that drives great art, leaving the receiver wanting more and more until the artist becomes highly prized and sought after. This is a recognition that Sprinkle has yet to receive among most Christian music fans. He must be one of Christian music's most unsung and subtle musicians. One of Sprinkle's more devotional songs lyrically is in his title track ("The Kindest Days"). As obtuse as his lyrics are, the song gives the impression of the temporal and of thankfulness.
So I will say again, all I have ever been is walking backward, chasing after, things that will never be able to carry me anywhere but to the ground below me. Chorus: "I, I can't believe, that you're such a part of me. And after all this time, you got through, with your loving ways, and these have been the kindest days that I've known since I met you.
Oh Lord, it's underneath my skin. It goes and shows me all the things that I've been missing. All I know is that I want it now and I think about the days when I won't feel pain.
The quirkiest song on the album must be the fifth track, "Signing my name." The lyrics are confusing and cloaked, but the music sounds like the "um-pa" music from a haunted merry-go-'round looped behind a muted and eerie carnival trumpet you might hear in a Space Quest game before the main character gets destroyed. It creates a very unsettling but edgy sound. The album ends with a sharp, uncharacteristic and almost careless tone. It may surprise you.
For its mere originality, this album fully deserves 4 tocks.
4 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Bandoppler 2000Reviewed by Earl CampbellThe Poor Old Lu and Rose Blossom Punch vet brings us his second solo-project, The Kindest Days, quickly on the heels of last year's standout singer/songwriter pop surprise Moontraveler. His style is cemented, and the growth within that style is apparent on this disc. Stronger melodies, catchier hooks, smarter sentiments, braver progressions, and that voice – that sweet, dreamy, sensitive male…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Josh SpencerAaron Sprinkle is the greatest one-man band in the world. He continues to play everything but drums on The Kindest Days, his sophomore solo effort. It's far more consistent than his last album and finds him in a mostly mellow mood. Acoustic strumming with little picked riffs is his sound of choice, with some swells of Rose Blossom Punch lite distortion and a revival of the latter-day Poor Old Lu…Similar sounding releases
2000The Grapes of WrathField Trip
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2002The DamnwellsPMR + 1
2001Eric PetersLand of the Living
