Shakey Graves Continues to Refine Folk-rock Songsmithing on Contemplative and Experimental ‘Fondness, etc.’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

There has always been a loneliness to Shakey Graves’ music, and that feeling is even more pronounced on his fifth album, Fondness, etc. Fittingly, this one was recorded in near isolation, alone in his home recording studio with analog equipment surrounded by synthesizers, a drum machine, and a WWII-era guitar. The result is a lo-fi bedroom album brimming with emotion as he sings about grief, acceptance, and appreciation at various points across the nine songs.

Despite the solitude of this experience, Graves was able to layer in plenty of sound to color around his vocals. “Don’t Change a Thing,” which opens the record, sets the tone for what follows with a mellow meditation delivered with measured vulnerability. It’s a singing style that is carried throughout the album. “When the Love is New” has a folk shuffle with impressive fingerpicking throughout, while “Away it Goes” is delivered in a slow, drawn-out manner, adding to the emotional heft of the song.

True to the slightly more experimental nature of this record, there are two instrumentals (“Suddenly” and “I Was Once An Ocean”), the former is synth-heavy and probably the closest thing to a pop song he has written, while the latter, with guitar drenched in reverb, gives off a more ominous feel. There is also a great cover of Frankie Sunswept’s “Time Flies,” which rolls out at a languid pace, with Graves voice hitting a falsetto at points over a strummed guitar and a repeating snare drumbeat. With “On My Own” and “No Place to Be,” the album closes the way it opened, with mellow recitations on life – there are no character sketches in these stories, just someone reflecting on the decisions that have come to define their world and moving forward with new changes.

What makes Fondness, etc. resonate is the stillness and solitude at its core. Graves never rushes these songs or overplays their emotions, instead letting each thought drift out. The result is an album that feels deeply human and lived-in, contemplative and quietly beautiful, even in its heaviest moments.